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Thin Microcrystalline Silicon by a Microwave Remote Plasma Deposition Scheme for Heterojunction Solar Cells and Thin Film Transistors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

B. Jagannathan ,
R. L. Wallace  and
W. A. Anderson
B. Jagannathan
Affiliation:
Center for Electronic and Electro-optic Materials, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Eng, State University of New York at Buffalo, Amherst, NY 14260, USA
R. L. Wallace
Affiliation:
Center for Electronic and Electro-optic Materials, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Eng, State University of New York at Buffalo, Amherst, NY 14260, USA
W. A. Anderson
Affiliation:
Center for Electronic and Electro-optic Materials, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Eng, State University of New York at Buffalo, Amherst, NY 14260, USA
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Abstract

A microwave remote plasma system, operating in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) condition, has been designed to deposit microcrystalline silicon (μ c-Si). The plasma properties have been studied by Langmuir probe measurements in the deposition region. Microcrystalline silicon films of thickness < 0.3 μm have been grown by the decomposition of 2% SiH4/Ar diluted in H2. The films were analyzed for dark and photoconductivity, crystallinity and total H2 content. Raman spectroscopy indicates >50% crystallinity for films deposited between 300–400 °C at pressures of 10 mTorr with an input power in the range of 200–600 W for a H2/SiH4 ratio of 60. An increase in deposition temperature from 300 to 400 °C resulted in an increase in conductivity along with a decrease in the activation energy. H2 evolution studies indicate that the purely μ c-Si films show a total 2.5% H2 content compared with the 16.5% seen for the totally amorphous films. Better structural and electrical properties have more recently been obtained using 2% SiH4/He mixtures.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 452 , 1996 , 901
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

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Footnotes

*

Present Address: Evergreen Solar, Inc., 211 Second Ave., Waltham, MA 02154

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