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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Thick microcrystalline silicon (mc-Si:H) films were exposed to atomic hydrogen plasma at substrate temperature of 220°C after deposition. The microstructure of μc-Si:H films after exposure was characterized using Raman back scattering spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Raman spectra reveal that the intensity near 520 cm−1 significantly increases after hydrogen exposure, indicating an increase of crystallinity in the films. TEM micrographs of μc-Si:H films exposed to atomic hydrogen also show an increase in the size of grains and a growth of crystalline grains ranging from surface to bulk. These results suggest that crystalline grain formation in μc-Si:H films is likely to be caused by chemical annealing.