Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-jwnkl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-12T04:33:01.105Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

STM Observation on the Initial growth of Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

K. Ikuta
Affiliation:
Joint Research Center for Atom Technology (JRCAT)-National Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research (NAIR), Higashi 1-1-4, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305
Y. Toyoshima
Affiliation:
Electrotechnical Laboratory, Umezono 1-1-4, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305
S. Yamasaki
Affiliation:
Joint Research Center for Atom Technology (JRCAT)-National Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research (NAIR), Higashi 1-1-4, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305
A. Matsuda
Affiliation:
Joint Research Center for Atom Technology (JRCAT)-National Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research (NAIR), Higashi 1-1-4, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305
K. Tanaka
Affiliation:
Joint Research Center for Atom Technology (JRCAT)-National Institute for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research (NAIR), Higashi 1-1-4, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305
Get access

Abstract

Direct nanoscale observation on the nucleation and growth of hydrogenated amorphous and microcrystalline silicon on graphite substrates was made using scanning tunneling microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman scattering spectroscopy. Nucleation of hydrogenated silicon clusters is initiated through the nucleation sites created by reactive hydrogen species coming from the source gas plasma. The difference in spatial distribution of nucleated clusters at the initial stage of deposition between a-Si:H and μc-Si:H is ascribed to the difference in the number density of nucleation sites which results in difference in the diffusion length of a SiH3 radical at the initial stage of deposition on the graphite substrate. The RMS roughness of μc-Si:H films is larger than that of a-Si:H when the film thickness is larger than 10 Å, which is opposite to the behavior at the initial nucleation stage on the graphite substrate.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

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. Antoine, A. M. and Drevillon, B., J. Non-Cryst. Solids 97 & 98, 1403 (1987).Google Scholar
2. An, I., Nguyen, H. V., Nguyen, N. V., and Collins, R. W., Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 2274 (1990).Google Scholar
3. Akasaka, T., Araki, Y., Nakata, M., and Shimizu, I., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 32, 2607 (1993).Google Scholar
4. Shirai, H., J. Non-Cryst. Solids (to be published).Google Scholar
5. Toyoshima, Y., Arai, K., Matsuda, A., and Tanaka, K., J. Non-Cryst. Solids 137 & 138, 765 (1991).Google Scholar
6. Miyazaki, S., Shin, H., Miyoshi, Y., and Hirose, M., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34, 787 (1995).Google Scholar
7. Kawasaki, M., and Suzuki, H., J. Appl. Phys. 75, 3456 (1994).Google Scholar
8. Wiesendanger, R., Rosenthala, L., Hidber, H. R., Guintherraodt, H. J., Mckinnon, A. W., and Spear, W. E., J. Appl. Phys. 63, 4515 (1988).Google Scholar
9. Boland, J. J. and Parsons, G. N., Science 256, 1304 (1992).Google Scholar
10. Matsuse, M., Kawasaki, M., and Koinuma, H., Proc. 1st World Conf. on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 425 (Hawaii, 1994).Google Scholar
11. Tanenbaum, D. M., Laracuente, A., and Gallagher, A. C., Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 377, 143 (1995).Google Scholar
12. Deki, H., Fukuda, M., Miyazaki, S., and Hirose, M., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34, L1027 (1995).Google Scholar
13. Matsuda, A. and Tanaka, K., J. Appl. Phys. 60, 2351 (1986).Google Scholar
14. Ikuta, K., Toyoshima, Y., Yamasaki, S., Matsuda, A., and Tanaka, K., J. Non-Cryst. Solids (to be published).Google Scholar
15. Ikuta, K., Miki, K., Yamasaki, S., Matsuda, A., and Tanaka, K., Appl. Phys. Lett. 65, 1760 (1994).Google Scholar
16. Tuinstra, F. and Koening, J. L., J. Chem. Phys. 53, 1126 (1970).Google Scholar
17. Mizes, H. A. and Foster, J. S., Science 244, 559 (1989).Google Scholar
18. Ikuta, K., Toyoshima, Y., Yamasaki, S., Matsuda, A., and Tanaka, K., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34, L379 (1995).Google Scholar
19. Family, F., Physica A 168, 561 (1990).Google Scholar
20. Palasantzas, G. and Krim, J., Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 3564 (1994).Google Scholar