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Hydrogen Diffusion in Boron-Doped Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Films: Crystallization and Induced Structural Changes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

F. Kail,
A. Hadjadj and
P. Roca i Cabarrocas
F. Kail
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Physique des Interfaces et des Couches Minces (UMR 7647 CNRS), Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.Laboratoire d'Analyse des Solides, Surfaces et Interfaces, Unité de Thermique et Analyse Physique (UTAP EA 3802), Université de Reims, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France.
A. Hadjadj
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Analyse des Solides, Surfaces et Interfaces, Unité de Thermique et Analyse Physique (UTAP EA 3802), Université de Reims, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France.
P. Roca i Cabarrocas
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Physique des Interfaces et des Couches Minces (UMR 7647 CNRS), Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau Cedex, France.
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Abstract

We have studied the evolution of the structure of boron-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon films exposed to a hydrogen plasma. From the early stages of exposure, hydrogen diffuses and forms a thick H-rich subsurface. At longer times, hydrogen plasma leads to the formation of a microcrystalline layer via chemical transport without crystallization of the initial layer. We observe that the hydrogen content increases in the films during a plasma exposure and once the microcrystalline layer is formed hydrogen diffuses out of the sample accompanied with a decrease in the boron content. This effect can be attributed to the electric field developed within the heterojunction a-Si:H/μc-Si:H that drives the positively charged hydrogen atoms in the boron-doped layer towards the μc-Si:H layer.

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