Structure of a-Si:H by Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

We use small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and density measurements by flotation to examine the microstructure of a-Si:H deposited by various techniques. The systems studied include rf glow discharge (GD) films deposited at different substrate temperatures and a-Si:H deposited using other techniques such as very high frequency GD (VHF GD), sputtering (SP) and hot wire assisted chemical vapor deposition (HW). We review the methodology used to analyze the SAXS data and present extensive data where the SAXS samples were tilted with respect to the x-ray beam axis to examine more closely the microvoid shapes. The present results suggest that the microvoid shapes may be deposition system dependent.