The formation of isolated silicon nanowires and silicon nanowire networks using aluminum thin film is investigated. The formation mechanism of the network mainly depends on the diffusion of silicon in the aluminum thin film. The silicon stops at the film grain boundaries. The continuous accumulations of silicon at these boundaries give raise to a continuous network of silicon nanowires. Characterization of the nanowires has been done using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. These results are unique in the fact that the nanowires found are grown in a horizontal fashion instead of the more common vertical direction. Most of the nanowires have a diameter of about 60 nm and a length of over 10 μm.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon nanoparticles with an average diameter of 150 nm have been synthesized by high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition. The particles are deposited onto a conducting substrate and are then surrounded by an insulating matrix, electrically isolating the particles. Electrical contact is made to the top of each nanoparticle; the current-voltage characteristics of the nanoparticles indicate that transport is space-charge limited through the a-Si:H. The spectral density of the current fluctuations in the a-Si:H nanoparticles is well described by a 1/f frequency dependence for frequency f. However, the octave separation dependence of the correlation coefficients of the noise power for the nanoparticles are very well described by an ensemble of fluctuators whose amplitudes are independently modulated in parallel, rather than the serial kinetics typically observed in bulk a-Si:H.

A novel plasma hydrogenation method for the fabrication of nano-crystalline structures of silicon as well as the photoluminescence and structural properties of these porous structures is presented. We have observed that the hydrogenation process followed by an annealing treatment results in the formation of nano-crystalline silicon structures where increased temperatures during hydrogenation reduces the grain size. Furthermore, by increasing the time of the hydrogenation process, the density of the silicon grains is increased.

Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy demonstrated the presence of a direct gap in the visible light range where materials with a smaller grain size emitted light at lower wavelengths, and a higher density of grains resulted in higher amplitudes in the PL spectrum. TEM and SEM characterization of these samples and the structure-emission relationship are also presented.

The electronic properties of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) were studied using junction capacitance methods. Drive-level capacitance profiling (DLCP) measurements revealed significant differences for nc-Si:H layers deposited under constant hydrogen dilution compared to those deposited using hydrogen profiling, with lower DLCP densities in the latter case. Transient photocapacitance (TPC) measurements revealed the mixed-phase nature of these materials. It disclosed spectra that appeared quite microcrystalline-like at lower temperatures, but more similar to a-Si:H at higher temperatures where the minority carrier collection is higher in the nanocrystalline component of these samples. This then suppresses the TPC signal from this component compared to the a-Si:H component. In contrast, because transient photocurrent signals are enhanced by the additional minority carrier collection, those spectra appear microcrystalline like at all temperatures. We also investigated the effects of light-induced degradation in these devices. This caused a dramatic decrease in hole collection, similar to that caused by reducing the measurement temperature of the samples. However, the light exposure did not appear to increase the deep defect density (dangling bonds).

The structure and crystal growth of the silicon thin film deposited by e-beam evaporator have been studied with use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The silicon thin film is deposited at room temperature for flexible display. It is found that the silicon film deposited by e-beam evaporator has polysilicon structure by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM image also shows that grain size of the silicon film is about 50nm. X-ray diffraction of the silicon thin film represents that the orientation of the silicon film is (201). We have also investigated the structure and the crystal growth of the silicon film after the silicon film is irradiated by XeCl excimer laser with various energy densities. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the irradiated silicon thin film has low intra-grain defects and sharp grain boundary.

In this paper we report on our work using in-situ real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) to study the dynamics of hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and epitaxial crystal silicon (epi-Si) for photovoltaic applications. We utilize RTSE as both an in-situ diagnostic and a postgrowth analysis tool for a-Si:H/crystalline silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells and epi-silicon films grown by HWCVD. RTSE enables precise thickness control of the 3 to 10 nm thick layers used in the SHJ devices, as well as monitoring crystallinity and surface roughness in real time. With the assistance of in-situ RTSE feedback we have achieved a photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency of 17% on an Al-backed p-type float-zone c-Si wafer. Open-circuit voltages above 650 mV indicate excellent passivation of the c-Si surface by the a-Si:H intrinsic layer. We have used RTSE to obtain information on the degree of crystallinity and the electronic and optical properties of films as a function of deposition conditions. RTSE has indirectly indicated the persistence of a hydrogen layer at the interface between the a-Si:H layer and the crystal silicon substrate. Absorption spectra determined by RTSE have provided guidance in device optimization.

We are also applying in-situ RTSE to study the dynamics of HWCVD growth of epi-Si. The goal of this work is to develop low-temperature methods for growing 2-10 μmthick layers of c-Si on c-Si seed layers on glass for solar cell applications. This study presents unique challenges for RTSE, as perfect epitaxial growth of c-Si on a c-Si wafer would produce no change at all in the RTSE spectra. We have found that by monitoring the pseudo-dielectric function in real time during growth we gain immediate feedback on the breakdown of epi-Si growth. Post-deposition analysis of the RTSE data provides quantitative information on the percent of c-Si and a-Si versus film thickness. The RTSE analysis has been confirmed by cross sectional TEM. Based on the rapid feedback provided by RTSE we have surpassed the previous HWCVD maxiumum of 200 nm of epi-Si growth, achieving a maximum thickness of 500 nm of epi-Si. TEM analysis has shown that micron-sized areas of these films achieve 1000 nm of epi-Si thickness.

We show heteroepitaxial growth of GaAs on Ge/SiGe grown on nanometer-scale grating structures. Conventional lithography techniques were combined with reactive ion and wet-chemical etching to fabricate 1-D patterns of silicon posts. The quality of the GaAs layers was investigated using high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) and etch pit density (EPD) measurements. Our results show significant improvement in the quality of heteroepitaxial layers grown on nano patterned structures compared to those on the unpatterned silicon. The optical quality of the GaAs/Ge/SiGe on nano-scale patterned silicon was comparable to that of single crystal GaAs.

We have simulated nano-crystalline silicon and microcrystalline silicon structures with varying crystallite volume fractions, using molecular dynamics simulations. The crystallite regions reside in an amorphous matrix. We find the amorphous matrix is better ordered in nanocrystalline-Si than in the homogenous amorphous silicon networks, consistent with the observed higher stability of H-diluted films. There is a critical size above which the crystallites are stable and may grow. Sub-nm size crystallites in the protocrystalline phase are found to reduce the strain of the amorphous matrix. We simulated micro-crystalline silicon with a substantial crystallite volume fraction. Microcrystalline structures exhibit a crystalline core surrounded by an amorphous shell with similarities to silicon nanowires. We find a relatively uniform H distribution in the amorphous region and a crystal-amorphous phase boundary that is not welldefined.

In-situ real-time optical reflectance spectroscopy is applied to investigate structural changes as hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) loses H and crystallizes at elevated temperature. The interference fringe spectrum (cutoff energy and amplitude) mainly characterize changes in the bulk, while the the crystal Si (c-Si) direct-transition ultra-violet reflectance signatures reveal the presence of any crystalline phase at the surface. Effusion of atomic hydrogen is monitored by a decrease of the interference fringe cutoff energy and is thermally activated with about 1.7 eV. In a-Si:H on glass, optical reflectance spectra are consistent with 2.8 eV activated homogeneous nucleation and growth of a small grain (˜ 100 nm) polycrystalline phase. In contrast, a-Si:H on c-Si crystallizes by solid phase epitaxy with very different spectral kinetics. Our measurements reveal the temperature-time window for thermal crystallization of a-Si:H for photovoltaic device applications, and highlight the versatility of the in-situ spectral reflectance monitoring.

Microcrystalline silicon and its group IV alloys are widely explored as absorber layers in thin film solar cells. Despite the extended research in recent years the fundamental understanding of the relation between macroscopical properties, i.e. electrical and optical properties, and the microstructure is poor. Clearly, the structure of microcrystalline materials, consisting of a phase mixture between “amorphous” material, crystalline grains, and voids, is complex. To demonstrate the strengths and limitations of transmission electron microscopy on microcrystalline materials, we will discuss different techniques employed to investigate grain sizes and morphologies, crystallographic orientations, amorphous volume fractions, and lateral arrangements of crystallites. In particular, we focus on the potential for analyzing the structure of grain boundaries and the amorphous phase in microcrystalline silicon and silicon carbide by the most advanced techniques in atomic resolution imaging in the transmission electron microscope.

The effects of post-deposition annealing and material stability of undoped and n+ nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) films deposited at 75 °C using standard 13.56 MHz plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) have been investigated. Electrical, structural, and chemical composition properties of the films at ambient atmosphere were studied before and after the thermal annealing. The dark conductivity (σd) in all films demonstrated high stability against prolonged ambient atmosphere exposure, which can be attributed to stable hydrogen passivation of the grain boundaries. On the other hand, in undoped nc-Si:H films, the σd increases by more than one order of magnitude after annealing in ambient atmosphere, followed by a decrease below the as-grown value. Depending on the annealing temperature, the σd can drop as low as 10-8 S/cm. In n+ nc-Si:H films, the decrease in the σd was lower. However, in undoped nc-Si:H films capped by an amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiN:H), this was not observed. In all films, no significant change in the film microstructure before and after annealing was detected. However, a small decrease in the hydrogen content (CH) accompanied by an increase in the oxygen content (CO) was observed in uncapped undoped nc-Si:H films. It was therefore concluded that the σd is affected by oxygen desorption due to annealing and its absorption from the ambient atmosphere. Based on experimental results, we propose a possible model in terms of hydrogen effusion-assisted oxygen absorption.

We have prepared FeSi2 precipitates of nanometer size in Si by ion implantation using a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion source and studied their photoluminescence properties. Broad photoluminescence (PL) spectra at around 1550 nm were observed for all samples attributed to emission from the FeSi2 precipitates. It was found that all the PL spectra can be decomposed into two peaks, a main peak at near 1530 nm and a satellite peak at 1607 nm. Samples with a furnace annealing (FA) step at a lower temperature of 850°C are found to have a main peak position at a longer wavelength close to 1540 nm. For samples with a FA step at higher temperatures, the main peak position shifts to shorter wavelengths of near 1525 nm. In addition, we have also prepared MOS structures with implanted FeSi2 precipitates incorporated in the structures and measured their EL properties. The EL properties from these FeSi2-Si MOS structures after various thermal treatments were measured as a function of temperature from 80 to 300 K. Our preliminary results show that clear EL signals are obtained even at room temperature under appropriate processing conditions.

We report on growth of nanocrystalline Si:H films and devices using a layer-by-layer growth technique, where the growth of a thin amorphous layer by PECVD is followed by chemical annealing in a Helium plasma. The films and devices were grown using a remote, low pressure ECR plasma process. It was found that the structure of the films grown using the layerby-layer technique depended critically upon whether the annealing was done with hydrogen or helium, and the time taken to do the annealing. When the annealing was done in a hydrogen plasma, the films remained amorphous; in contrast, when the annealing was done in helium, and the annealing time was increased to 20 seconds from 10 seconds, the films became crystalline. The crystallinity of the films was confirmed using Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. The result obtained here shows that it is not necessary to have a high hydrogen dilution to obtain nanocrystalline films. Rather, the amount of hydrogen already present in an amorphous film is enough to cause crystallization, provided that enough ion flux and perhaps energy are available for converting the amorphous structure to a crystalline structure. Proof - of - concept p+nn+ junction devices were fabricated in these chemically annealed materials, and they showed classical nanocrystalline Si solar cell type behavior.

We have included both the Meyer-Neldel rule and field assisted detrapping in the multiple-trapping model, assuming exponential band tails of localized states. Monte Carlo simulations with fixed parameters provide transient currents and comparison of calculated and measured mobility, μ(T,F), and pre-transit dispersion parameter, α1(T,F), which are presented for temperatures ranging from 25 K to 333 K and fields from 20 kV/cm to 400 kV/cm. We observe that the values of μ1(T,F) and α(T,F) are improved with this combined model. Although this model provides satisfactory results for carrier transport for all temperature and field, differences in experimental data causes deviation of simulated results from experiment.

Nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) films were deposited by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) at 150°C. ICP power was 400W. The process gas was SiH4 diluted with He as well as H2. The flow rate of He, H2 and He/H2 mixture was varied from 20sccm to 60sccm and that of SiH4 was 3sccm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the nc-Si films were measured. From the XRD results of nc-Si films deposited by ICP-CVD, the properties of Si film deposited under each condition were studied. As the dilution ratio increases and He/H2 mixture was used as a dilution gas, intensities of <111>and<220> peaks were increased and the incubation layer was thin. These results were explained in the point of role of H2 plasma and He plasma in the nc-Si deposition process. Our experimental results show that nc-Si film deposited by ICP-CVD may be suitable for an active layer of nc-Si TFTs.

The optimized N2O fluence is demonstrated for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of Si-rich substoichiometric silicon oxide (SiOx) films with buried Si nanocrystals. Strong room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) at 550-870 nm has been observed in SiOx films grown by PECVD under a constant SiH4 fluence of 20 sccm with an N2O fluence varying from 105 sccm to 130 sccm. A 22-nm-redshift in the central PL wavelength has been detected after annealing from 15 min to 180 min. The maximum PL irradiance is observed from the SiOx film grown at the optimal N2O fluence of 120 sccm after annealing for 30 minutes. Larger N2O fluence or longer annealing time leads to a PL band that is blue-shifted by 65 nm and 20 nm, respectively. Such a blue shift is attributed to shrinkage in the size of the Si nanocrystals with the participation of oxygen atoms from N2O incorporated within the SiOx matrix. The (220)-oriented Si nanocrystals exhibit radii ranging from 4.4 nm to 5.0 nm as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The luminescent lifetime lengthens to 52 μs as the nc-Si size increase to > 4 nm. Optimal annealing times for SiOx films prepared at different N2O fluences are also reported. A longer annealing process results in a stronger oxidation effect in SiOx films prepared at higher N2O fluences, yielding a lower PL irradiance at shorter wavelengths. In contrast, larger Si nanocrystals can be precipitated when the N2O fluence becomes lower; however, such a SiOx film usually exhibits weaker PL at longer wavelength due to a lower nc-Si density. These results indicate that a N2O/SiH4 fluence ratio of 6:1 is the optimized PECVD growth condition for the Si-rich SiO2 wherein dense Si nanocrystals are obtained after annealing.

We report novel material properties of a series of a-Si,Ge:H alloys grown by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition under low filament temperature (˜1800°C) and low substrate temperature (˜200-300°C). These alloys exhibit significantly improved electronic properties including low defect densities and sharp band tails (Urbach energies ≤ 45meV even for Ge fractions as high as 47at.%). On the other hand, comparisons of the transient photocapacitance and transient photocurrent spectra do not indicate very efficient hole collection in these materials. We found two distinct regimes of light-induced degradation in the alloy sample with 29at.% Ge fraction, possibly corresponding to the light induced increase of Ge and Si dangling bonds, respectively.

It is experimentally known that the linearity and sensitivity of the position sensitive detectors (PSD) are dependent on the resistance of the collecting layer and of the load resistance, mainly if the detection is based on the measurement of the photo-lateral voltage. To determine the value of the load resistance to be used in metal - insulator - semiconductor (MIS) PSDs structures that lead to the maximum value of sensitivity and linearity, we propose an electrical model through which it is able to simulate the proper sensor response and how the load resistance influence the results obtained. This model is valid for PSDs where the resistance of the collecting resistive layer is quite low (≤ 500 Ω), leading to a low output impedance. Under these conditions we conclude that the value of the load resistance should be of about 1 kΩ in order to achieve a good compromise between the linearity and the sensitivity of the PSD. This result is in agreement with the set of experiments performed.

Microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) based single junction solar cells are deposited by VHF PECVD using a showerhead cathode at high pressures in depletion conditions. At a deposition rate of 4.5 nm/s, a stabilized conversion efficiency of 6.7 % is obtained for a single junction solar cell with a μc-Si i-layer of 1 μm. The i-layer is made near the transition from amorphous to crystalline. In order to control the material properties in the growth direction, the hydrogen dilution of silane in the gas phase is graded following different profiles with a parabolic shape. It is observed that the performance of solar cells deposited at high rate improves under light soaking conditions at 50 °C, which we attribute to post deposition equilibration of a fast deposited transition material.

The performance is lower at higher rates due to poorer i-layer quality (higher defect density), which may be attributed to smaller relaxation times for growth precursors at the growth surface and the higher energy ion bombardment at higher plasma power. High process pressures can be used to reduce the ion energy by decreasing the mean free path. We have introduced an additional method to limit the ion energy by controlling the DC self bias voltage using an external power source. In this way the quality of the μc-Si layers and the performance of the solar cells is further improved.

Radiation tests of 32 μm thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon n-i-p diodes have been performed using a high energy 24 GeV proton beam up to fluences in excess of 1016 protons/cm2. The results are compared to irradiation of similar 1 μm and 32 μm thick n-i-p diodes using a proton beam of 280 keV at a fluence of 3x1013 protons/cm2. Even though both types of irradiation cause a significant drop in photoconductivity of thin or thick diodes, all samples survived the experiment and recover almost fully after a subsequent thermal annealing.