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Growth of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) films by HWCVD using a Graphite catalyzer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

D.M. Bhusari ,
P. Kumar ,
M. Kupich  and
B. Schroeder
D.M. Bhusari
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, GA, USA
P. Kumar
Affiliation:
Department of Physics / Center of Optical Technologies and Laser Controlled processes, University of Kaiserslautern, P.O. Box 3049, 67653 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
M. Kupich
Affiliation:
Department of Physics / Center of Optical Technologies and Laser Controlled processes, University of Kaiserslautern, P.O. Box 3049, 67653 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
B. Schroeder
Affiliation:
Department of Physics / Center of Optical Technologies and Laser Controlled processes, University of Kaiserslautern, P.O. Box 3049, 67653 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
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Abstract

A graphite catalyzer has been used to grow μc-Si:H films using the thermo-catalytic (HW) chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. The films grown in the amorphous-microcrystalline ‘transition regime’ have been found to exhibit a high photosensitivity of the order of 102-103 at a crystalline volume fraction of 0.2-0.4. The effects of deposition parameters such as silane concentration, pressure and substrate temperature on the microstructure and electrical properties of the films have been studied. It has been found that the graphite catalyzer offers a wider window of the deposition parameters for the growth of the ‘transition regime’ films as compared to the conventional W and Ta catalyzers. In addition, the graphite wires also exhibit significantly greater chemical as well as mechanical stability than the W and Ta wires, which results in improvement of the reproducibility of the technique. However, at the same filament temperature and other conditions, the deposition rates are about 10 times lower than for W or Ta filament. Increasing of the filament temperature, on the contrary, lead to radiative heating and carbon contamination of the growing film.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 808: Symposium A – Amorphous and Nanocrystaline Silicon Science and Technology-2004 , 2004 , A9.30
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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References

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