The crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si) film and the electrical activation of dopants have been systematically studied. The crystallization of a-Si was realized by depositing an a-Si film of 800 angstrom thickness on a glass substrate using a Ni phase transformation catalyst, followed by annealing at 550 degrees C. Electrical activation and crystallization were accomplished at the same time and the effect has been compared with the normal process. Resistance changes with respect to the doses in three different crystalline structures, amorphous, poly and single crystalline silicon, have been compared to find the optimum saturation dose and annealing temperature. The grain boundary effect on the resistance at different doses was intensively studied in this work. The minimum resistance of 224 Omega/square in a boron-doped poly-silicon thin film was obtained by annealing in a furnace at 550 degrees C, and 177 Omega/square was obtained in boron-doped amorphous silicon thin film annealed by RTA for 1 min. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.