Reduction of threshold voltage in metal-induced-laterally-crystallized thin film transistors

In conventional metal-induced-laterally crystallized (MILC) thin film transistors (TFTs), the source and drain regions are crystallized by metal-induced crystallization (MIC) self-aligned to the edges of the gate electrodes. A distinct grain boundary exists at the border between the MILC and the MIC regions. It will be shown that the apparent threshold voltage (V/sub t/) of the MILC TFTs is affected by the presence of these MILC/MIC grain boundaries (MMGBs) at the edges of the transistor channels. Furthermore, V/sub t/ can be reduced either by eliminating the MMGBs from both the source and drain junctions or by hydrogen passivation of the traps in the MMGBs.