Jae Hyuck Choi

US Patent:

7399359, Jul 15, 2008

Filed:

Sep 29, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/953312

Inventors:

James S. Im - New York NY, US
Jae Beom Choi - Palisades Park NJ, US

Assignee:

The Trustees of Columbia University in theCity of New York - New York NY

International Classification:

H01L 21/00
H01L 21/31

US Classification:

117107, 438149, 438795, 257E21582

Abstract:

Method and system for generating a metal thin film with a uniform crystalline orientation and a controlled crystalline microstructure are provided. For example, a metal layer is irradicated with a pulsed laser to completely melt the film throughout its entire thickness. The metal layer can then resolidify to form grains with a substantially uniform orientation. The resolidified metal layer can be irradiated with a sequential lateral solidification technique to modify the crystalline microstructure (e. g. , create larger grains, single-crystal regions, grain boundary controlled microstructures, etc. ) The metal layer can be irradiated by patterning a beam using a mask which includes a first region capable of attenuating the pulsed laser and a second region allowing complete irradiation of sections of the thin film being impinged by the masked laser beam. An inverse dot-patterned mask can be used, the microstructure that may have substantially the same as the geometric pattern as that of the dots of the mask.