Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
The effect of ion bombardment on the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of a-Si:H and on TCO/a-Si:H interface reactions has been studied. An external DC-bias voltage is applied to the deposition plasma in order to change the ion flux and ion energy. The deposition rate increases with the applied bias-voltage i.e. with the plasma potential. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon is grown on natively rough transparent conductive oxide. With cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy lower density regions can be observed in the a-Si:H in all sharp valleys of the TCO. The appearance of the lower density regions changes under influence of the ion bombardment. The observed changes are in agreement with the changes observed when no ion bombardment is present at all, like in a hot wire chemical vapor deposition process. The increased ion bombardment did not give rise to observable chemical reactions at the TCO/a-Si:H interface.