Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) has been obtained using low-temperature (＜500℃)

nickel-based

metal-induced crystallization (MIC) of amorphous silicon.Because crystallization outside of the nickel-covered regions is not only possible but also commonly desired

the technique of metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) is often utilized.Based on studies on the crystallization kinetics and material characteristics

a unified mechanism is proposed for MIC both under and outside of the nickel coverage.While the material quality of MILC poly-Si is significantly better than that of solid-phase crystallized poly-Si

the performance of MILC poly-Si thin-film transistors (TFTs) is quite sensitive to and degraded by the inclusion of MIC/MILC and MILC/MILC interfaces in the device channel regions.When such interfaces are eliminated

excellent TFTs are obtained that can be used to realize high performance systems-on-panels

including sophisticated displays based on liquid crystals or organic light-emitting diodes.