Study of hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited by rf glow discharge in silane-hydrogen mixtures

Journal Article · Sat Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 1984 · J. Appl. Phys.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.334191· OSTI ID:6613505

Vanier, P E; Kampas, F J; Corderman, R R; Rajeswaran, G

The rf glow discharge deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon from silane-hydrogen mixtures has been studied as a function of silane fraction. Discharge processes were investigated using optical emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The deposited films were characterized using UV and IR spectroscopy, dark conductivity, and photoconductivity. The dilution of silane in hydrogen resulted in an increase in deposition rate by as much as an order of magnitude over the rate for pure silane, for constant values of total flow rate, pressure, substrate temperature, and rf power. The dependence of deposition rate on silane fraction is attributed to changes in the electron energy distribution in the plasma. The hydrogen content and optical gap of the films are independent of the silane fraction. Photoconductivity values, corrected for slight variations of the Fermi level, increase with silane dilution.

• Research Organization: Division of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973
• OSTI ID: 6613505
• Journal Information: J. Appl. Phys.; (United States), Vol. 56:6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
SILICON
DEPOSITION
GLOW DISCHARGES
PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
FERMI LEVEL
FILMS
HYDROGENATION
INFRARED SPECTRA
MASS SPECTROMETERS
PLASMA
SILANES
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY LEVELS
EQUIPMENT
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SILICON COMPOUNDS
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SEMIMETALS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SPECTRA
SPECTROMETERS
SPECTROSCOPY
360601* - Other Materials- Preparation & Manufacture
360603 - Materials- Properties