Ni-metal-induced crystallization (MIC) of amorphous Si (alpha-Si) has been used to fabricate low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs). The current crystallization technology, however, often leads to trap Ni and NiSi2 precipitates, which degrade the device performance. In this study, a new manufacturing method for poly-Si TFTs using drive-in Ni induced crystallization (DIC) was proposed. In DIC, F+ implantation was used to drive Ni in the alpha-Si layer. It was found that the electrical performance (especially leakage current) and thermal stability of DIC-TFTs were improved due to the reduction of Ni concentration and passivation of trap states near the SiO2/poly-Si interface. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.