Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T12:56:44.686Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dual-Chamber Plasma Co-Deposition of Nanoparticles in Amorphous Silicon Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

C. Anderson ,
C. Blackwell ,
J. Deneen ,
C. B. Carter ,
James Kakalios  and
U. Kortshagen
C. Blackwell
Affiliation:
cblack@physics.umn.edu, University of Minnesota, Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, United States
J. Deneen
Affiliation:
deneen@cems.umn.edu, University of Minnesota, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, United States
C. B. Carter
Affiliation:
cbcarter@umn.edu, University of Minnesota, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, United States
James Kakalios
Affiliation:
kakalios@umn.edu, University of Minnesota, Physics and Astronomy, 116 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis, 55455, United States
U. Kortshagen
Affiliation:
uk@me.umn.edu, University of Minnesota, Mechanical Engineering, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, United States
Get access

Abstract

The production of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films containing silicon nanocrystal-line inclusions (a/nc-Si:H) is demonstrated using a new deposition process. Crystalline Si nanoparticles around 5 nm in diameter are generated in a flow-through plasma reactor, and are introduced into a downstream capacitively-coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor where the particles are “co-deposited” with the amorphous phase of the film. Transmis-sion electron microscopy confirms the presence of crystalline inclusions in these films, as well as providing confirmation that the crystalline particles are indeed produced in the flow-through re-actor and not in the capacitive plasma. Electrical measurements indicate an improvement in the dark conductivity of the intrinsic a/nc-Si:H films as the particle concentration is increased, sug-gesting that the particles have a doping effect on the films charge transport properties.

Keywords

Siplasma depositionphotoconductivity
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 910: Symposium A – Amorphous and Polycrystalline Thin-Film Silicon Science and Technology – 2006 , 2006 , 0910-A04-02
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Butte, R., Meaudre, R., Meaudre, M., Vignoli, S., Longeaud, C., Kleider, J. P. and Cabarrocas, P. Roca i, Philos. Mag. B 79, 1079 (1999)Google Scholar
2. Lubrianiker, Y., Cohen, J. D., Jin, H.-C. and J. Abelson, R., Phys. Rev. B 60, 4434 (1999)Google Scholar
3. Morral, A. Fontcuberta i and Cabarrocas, P. Roca i, Thin Solid Films 383, 161 (2001)Google Scholar
4. Viera, G., Huet, S., Bertran, E. and Boufendi, L., J. Appl. Phys. 90, 4272 (2001)Google Scholar
5. Mangolini, L., Thimsen, E. and Kortshagen, U., Nano Lett. 5, 655–659 (2005)Google Scholar
6. Walck, S. D. and McCaffrey, J. P., Mater. Res. Soc. Proc. 480, 149 (1997)Google Scholar
7. Blackwell, C., Anderson, C., Deneen, J., Carter, C. B., Kakalios, J. and Kortshagen, U., Mater. Res. Soc. Proc. (This Volume)Google Scholar
8. Lucovsky, G., Nemanich, R. J. and Knights, J. C., Phys. Rev. B 19, 2064 (1979)Google Scholar