Surface Nano-Modification and Low-Temperature Crystallization of Si-Related Semiconductors by Soft X-Ray Irradiation

摘要

Agglomeration of Si atoms on the a-Si surface and the low-temperature crystallization of Si, Ge and Si_xGe_(1-x) films by SR soft x-ray irradiation using 2.4m-length undulator source and the effect of the combination of the excitation of core electron by laser plasma soft x-ray (LPX) and Si surface nano-modification by Xe~+ that is generated during LPX irradiation on the crystallization of a-Si are reviewed. The elementary process of the soft x-ray irradiation is the atom-diffusion following the localized excitation of the core electrons and the generation of Coulomb repulsion. For the low-temperature crystallization, the quasi-nuclei are formed via the elementary process. The temperature during the crystallization of Si or Ge by soft x-ray irradiation is approximately one-hundred °C lower than that by the conventional rapid thermal annealing.