Abstract
Recent work on zone‐melting recrystallization of Si on amorphous insulating substrates using a moveable‐strip heater oven is described in detail for the first time. A (100) texture is obtained if the Si is encapsulated with 
or a composite of
. An encapsulation layer of 
prevents agglomeration and ensures a smooth surface. Several theories explaining the predominance of (100) texture in the transition region and the tendency of solidification from (100) textured seeds to occlude other orientations are discussed. Both effects are believed due to minimum interfacial tension between Si (100) and 
. Grain boundaries can be eliminated by a variety of techniques, but subboundaries remain which have a minimal effect on majority carrier conduction. The spacings between subboundaries are found to increase with film thickness, approximately as the first power, and to increase with molten zone speed, approximately as the square root.