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Rapid Thermal Annealing of HWCVD a-Si:H Films: The Effect of the Film Hydrogen Content on the Crystallization Kinetics, Surface Morphology, and Grain Growth

Conference ·
OSTI ID:882613
We report the effect of the hydrogen (H) content (CH) on the crystallization kinetics, surface morphology and grain growth for Hot Wire CVD a-Si:H films containing 12.5 and 2.7 at.% H which are crystallized by rapid thermal anneal (RTA). For the high CH film we observe explosive H evolution, with a resultant destruction of the film for RTA temperatures >750 deg C. At RTA temperatures ~600 deg C, both films remain intact with similar morphologies. At this same lower RTA, the incubation and crystallization times decrease, and the grain size as measured by X-Ray Diffraction increases with decreasing film CH. SIMS measurements indicate that a similar film CH (<0.5 at.%) exists in both films when crystallization commences. The benefits of a two-step annealing process for the high CH film are documented.
Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-99GO10337
OSTI ID:
882613
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-520-38953
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English