Growth of silicon-on-insulator films using a line-source electron beam

A swept line source electron beam was used to study unseeded Si on insulator crystallization at beam scan speeds of 150 to 1500 cm/s. For a particular sample configuration a maximum linear crystallization velocity of approximately 350 cm/s was observed. At higher sweep speeds, competing nucleation occurred at intervals across the film. Both the limit in crystallization velocity and the intervals between nucleation are tentatively explained by a simple model.