Abstract: A method for fabricating on-chip spacers for a TFT panel exposes a photoresist layer on top of the TFT panel using two exposure processes, one through the bottom of the TFT and the other through a mask over the TFT panel. The exposure process through the bottom exposes all photoresist covering windows on the TFT panel and leaves all photoresist corresponding to an opaque grid corresponding a TFT driving circuit. A second exposure process through a mask above the photoresist leaves part of the photoresist in the opaque grid unexposed. The exposed photoresist is removed leaving on-chip spacers only on the opaque grid. Therefore, the on-chip spacers can not affect the display quality and can be easily formed on a high dpi TFT panel.

Abstract: A metal induced crystallization process is provided which employs an amorphous silicon film precursor deposited by physical vapor deposition, wherein the precursor film does not readily undergo crystallization by partial solid phase crystallization. Using this physical vapor deposition amorphous silicon precursor film, the amorphous silicon film is transformed to polysilicon by metal induced crystallization wherein the crystalline growth occurs fastest at regions that have been augmented with a metal catalyst and proceeds extremely slowly, practically zero, at regions which bear no metal catalyst. Accordingly, by use of the physical vapor deposition amorphous silicon precursor film in the process of the present invention, the metal induced crystallization process may take place at higher annealing temperatures and shorter annealing times without solid phase crystallization taking place.