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Characterization of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon thin films prepared with various negative direct current biases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Jae-Hyun Shim ,
Nam-Hee Cho ,
El-Hang Lee  and
Han-Sup Lee
Jae-Hyun Shim
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751, South Korea
Nam-Hee Cho*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751, South Korea
El-Hang Lee
Affiliation:
School of Information and Communication Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751, South Korea
Han-Sup Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Textile Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751, South Korea
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: nhcho@inha.ac.kr
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Abstract

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si:H) thin films were prepared by plasma- enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The films were deposited with a radio-frequency power of 100 W, while substrates were exposed to direct current (dc) biases in the range from 0 to −400 V. The effects of dc bias on the formation of nanoscale Si crystallites in the films and on their optical characteristics were investigated. The size of the Si crystallites in the films ranges from ∼1.9 to ∼4.1 nm. The relative fraction of the crystallites in the films reached up to ∼56.5% when a dc bias of −400 V was applied. Based on the variation in the structural, chemical, and optical features of the films with dc bias voltages, a model for the formation of nanostructures of the nc-Si:H films prepared by PECVD was suggested. This model can be utilized to understand the evolution in the size and relative fraction of the nanocrystallites as well as the amorphous matrix in the nc-Si:H films.

Keywords

Plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) (deposition)NanostructureSi
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , March 2008 , pp. 790 - 797
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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