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Comparative Fluctuation Microscopy Study of Medium-Range Order in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Deposited by Various Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

P. M. Voyles,
M. M. J. Treacy,
H-C. Jin,
J. R. Abelson,
J. M. Gibson,
J. Yang,
S. Guha and
R. S. Crandall
P. M. Voyles
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 W. Green St, Urbana, IL 61801NEC Research Institute, 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ 08540
M. M. J. Treacy
Affiliation:
NEC Research Institute, 4 Independence Way, Princeton, NJ 08540
H-C. Jin
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering and Coordinated Science Laboratory, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 W. Springfield, Urbana, IL 61801
J. R. Abelson
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering and Coordinated Science Laboratory, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1110 W. Springfield, Urbana, IL 61801
J. M. Gibson
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 Cass Ave, Argonne, IL 60439
J. Yang
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1110 West Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084
S. Guha
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corp., 1110 West Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084
R. S. Crandall
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401
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Abstract

We have characterized by fluctuation electron microscopy the medium-range order of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films deposited by a variety of methods. Films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering, hot-wire chemical vapor deposition, and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition with and without H2 dilution of the SiH4 precursor gas. All of the films show the signature of the paracrystalline structure typical of amorphous Si. There are small variations in the degree of medium-range order with deposition method and H content. The PECVD film grown with high H2 dilution contains Si crystals ∼5 nm in diameter at a density of ∼109 cm−2. The amorphous matrix surrounding these crystals shows no difference in mediumrange order from the standard PECVD film. This supports explanations of the resistance of the H-dilution material to light-induced degradation that depend only on the presence of crystalline grains without modifications of the amorphous matrix.

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References

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