We have investigated the phase transformation mechanisms and the resulting microstructures of excimer laser‐induced crystallization of amorphous Si films on SiO₂. It is shown that the process can be characterized into two major regimes, based on the dependence of the grain size and the melt duration as a function of the incident energy density. It is found that at the transition between the two regimes, exceedingly large grain‐sized polycrystalline films can be obtained. We call this the super lateral growth phenomenon, and propose a model based on liquid‐phase regrowth from the residual solid seeds when near‐complete melting of the Si film occurs.

The effects of the indium content on characteristics of nanocrystalline InGaZnO (IGZO) films grown by a sol-gel method and their thin film transistors (TFTs) have been investigated. Excess indium incorporation into IGZO enhances the field effect mobilities of the TFTs due to the increase in conducting path ways and decreases the grain size and the surface roughness of the films because more $\text{InO}_2{}^{-}$ ions induce cubic stacking faults with IGZO. These structural variations result in a decrease in density of interfacial trap sites at the semiconductor-gate insulator interface, leading to an improvement of the subthreshold gate swing of the TFTs.

In this review, we summarize solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) researches based on our fulfillments. We describe the fundamental studies of precursor composition effects at the beginning in order to figure out the role of each component in oxide semiconductors, and then present low temperature process for the adoption of flexible devices. Moreover, channel engineering for high performance and reliability of solution-processed oxide TFTs and various coating methods: spin-coating, inkjet printing, and gravure printing are also presented. The last topic of this review is an overview of multi-functional solution-processed oxide TFTs for various applications such as photodetector, biosensor, and memory.

This letter reports on the experimental findings, and provides a theoretical description of the super lateral growth (SLG) phenomenon observed in the pulsed laser‐induced solidification of amorphous thin Si films on SiO₂. Experimentally, we report and elaborate on the isolated single‐crystal disk structure that is observed at the upper threshold of the SLG regime; the structure is revealed as an important microstructural feature for understanding the phenomenon. A theoretical discussion of the SLG phenomenon is provided in terms of the key factors that are suggested by our model—the interface response function of the solid, the nucleation kinetics of the solid, and a highly transient lateral‐thermal profile near the solid‐melt interface. Our model and analysis point out the important inadequacies associated with the vertical solidification rate/temperature gradient model, which is currently being utilized to explain the excimer laser crystallization of thin Si films on SiO₂.