The formation of device-grade polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films on lo
w-cost substrates at low temperature using simple and fast processes is of
enormous interest for photovoltaics and lar ge-area electronics. In this pa
per we report the realisation of thick (similar to 5 mum), large-grained (s
imilar to 5 mum), uniform poly-Si films on glass at a substrate temperature
below 650 degreesC. This important technological progress was achieved by
using ion-assisted deposition of silicon for thickening a thin poly-Si seed
ing layer grown on glass by aluminium-induced crystallisation of amorphous
silicon. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.