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Material Structure of Microcrystalline Silicon Deposited with an Expanding Thermal Plasma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

C. Smit ,
D.L. Williamson ,
M.C.M. van de Sanden  and
R.A.C.M.M. van Swaaij
C. Smit
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, DIMES-ECTM, P.O. Box 5053, 2600 GB Delft, The Netherlands Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Applied Physics, P. O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, the Netherlands
D.L. Williamson
Affiliation:
Colorado School of Mines, Department of Physics, Golden, CO 80401, USA>
M.C.M. van de Sanden
Affiliation:
Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Applied Physics, P. O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, the Netherlands
R.A.C.M.M. van Swaaij
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, DIMES-ECTM, P.O. Box 5053, 2600 GB Delft, The Netherlands
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Abstract

Expanding thermal plasma CVD (ETP CVD) has been used to deposit thin microcrystalline silicon films. In this study we varied the position at which the silane is injected in the expanding hydrogen plasma: relatively far from the substrate and close to the plasma source, giving a long interaction time of the plasma with the silane, and close to the substrate, resulting in a short interaction time. The material structure is studied extensively. The crystalline fractions as obtained from Raman spectroscopy as well as from X-ray diffraction (XRD) vary from 0 to 67%. The average particle sizes vary from 6 to 17 nm as estimated from the (111) XRD peak using the Scherrer formula. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and flotation density measurements indicate void volume fractions of about 4 to 6%. When the samples are tilted the SAXS signal is lower than for the untilted case, indicating elongated objects parallel to the growth direction in the films. We show that the material properties are influenced by the position of silane injection in the reactor, indicating a change in the plasma chemistry.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 762: Symposium A – Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Silicon-Based Films – 2003 , 2003 , A.15.3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2003

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