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Properties of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon-Germanium Alloys Deposited by Dual Target Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2012

Samuel J. Levang
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN 55105 U.S.A.
James R. Doyle
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macalester College, St. Paul, MN 55105 U.S.A.
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Abstract

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium alloy thin films (a-Si1-xGex:H) were deposited using reactive magnetron sputtering. Dual targets of silicon and germanium were sputtered in an argon + hydrogen atmosphere using rf excitation. Films with x = 0.4 were deposited as a function of substrate temperature and hydrogen partial pressure, and were evaluated by dark and photoconductivity, infrared absorption, and optical transmission. Photosensitivity reached a maximum value of about 5000 between 150 and 200 °C. Using the stretching modes in the region of 2000 cm-1, the hydrogen bonding was characterized in terms of the preferential attachment ratio (PA), which represents the ratio of H bonded to silicon to that bonded to germanium. The PA shows a systematic increase with increasing temperature, independent of hydrogen partial pressure. The interplay between thermodynamic and kinetics effects in determining PA and film quality will be discussed.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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References

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