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Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering from a-Si:H and a-SiC:H Alloys Prepared by Reactive DC Magnetron Sputtering

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

Yan Chen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401
S.J. Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401
D.L. Williamson
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401
S. Yang
Affiliation:
Coordinated Science Laboratory and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801
N. Maley
Affiliation:
Coordinated Science Laboratory and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801
J.R. Abelson
Affiliation:
Coordinated Science Laboratory and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801
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Abstract

The microstructure of amorphous silicon-based alloys prepared by reactive magnetron sputter (RMS) deposition has been examined on a scale from 1 to 25 nm using small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and compared to that from films prepared by standard glow-discharge (GD) technology. Device-quality RMS a-Si:H material is found to have a larger microvoid fraction than device-quality GD a-Si:H and to have a significantly different size distribution. Addition of by the RMS technique using CH produces enhanced SAXS similar to the introduction of C via CH4 in GD material. A significant difference in the SAXS from RMS a-Si:H and a-SiC:H films compared to GD films is the observation of some oriented microstructure, most likely columnar in nature. Flotation density measurements of the same films examined by SAXS support the assumption that the SAXS originates primarily from microvoids.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1992

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