Effects of Dilution Ratio and Seed Layer on the Crystallinity of Microcrystalline Silicon Thin Films Deposited by Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition

H. R. Moutinho, C. S. Jiang, J. Perkins, Y. Xu, B. P. Nelson, K. M. Jones, M. J. Romero, M. M. Al-Jassim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus Citations

Abstract

We deposited microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) at different thickness and dilution ratio, with and without seed layer. As the dilution ratio increased, we observed an increase in the amount of microcrystalline phase in the film, a change in the structure of the grains and a loss of the (220) preferential orientation. The films deposited over a seed layer had a larger fraction of crystalline phase than films deposited with the same parameters but without a seed layer. For high dilution ratios (R = 100), most of the film grows epitaxially at the interface with the Si substrate, but a microcrystalline film slowly replaces the single-crystal phase. For low dilution ratios (R = 14), the film starts growing mostly amorphously, but the amount of crystalline phase increases with thickness.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)135-140
Number of pages6
JournalThin Solid Films
Volume430
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2003
EventProceedings of the Second International Conference on CAT-CVD - Denver, CO, United States
Duration: 10 Sep 200213 Sep 2002

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-520-32817

Keywords

  • Dilution ratio
  • Microcrystalline silicon
  • Microstructure
  • Seed layer

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