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Hydrogen Injection in ETP Plasma Jet for Fast-Deposition of High-Quality a-Si:H

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

A.M.H.N. Petit ,
R.A.C.M.M. van Swaaij  and
M.C.M. van de Sanden
A.M.H.N. Petit
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, DIMES-ECTM, P.O. Box 5053, 2600 GB Delft, The Netherlands. Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Applied Physics, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
R.A.C.M.M. van Swaaij
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, DIMES-ECTM, P.O. Box 5053, 2600 GB Delft, The Netherlands.
M.C.M. van de Sanden
Affiliation:
Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Applied Physics, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
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Abstract

We have used a cascaded-arc expanding thermal plasma (ETP) to produce thin films of amorphous silicon at high growth rates (> 3 nm/s). Here, we present a study of the effect on material properties of hydrogen injection in the nozzle, i.e., at the exit of the arc where the plasma expands into the reactor chamber. The advantage of using extra H2 in the nozzle is that the plasma chemistry and pressure in the arc remain unchanged, whilst higher growth rates and a material with low defect densities can be obtained.

We observe that with an increase of substrate temperature the growth rate decreases due to densification of the material. This densification is accompanied by a reduction of the hydrogen content and of the microstructure parameter. Further we observe that hydrogen content decreases with higher growth rate. A strong relation is found between the light conductivity and the microstructure parameter indicating a large void fraction in samples grown at low temperature.

We have been able to grow a-Si:H material, with H2 in the nozzle, at 350°C and 3 nm/s with a light conductivity of 1.2 × 10−5 Ω1cm−1, which can be suitable for solar-cell application.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 808: Symposium A – Amorphous and Nanocrystaline Silicon Science and Technology-2004 , 2004 , A9.54
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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References

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