Evolutionary phase diagrams for plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of silicon thin films from hydrogen-diluted silane

Koh, Joohyun; Ferlauto, André S.; Rovira, P. I.; Wroński, C. R.; Collins, R. W.

doi:10.1063/1.124992

Cited by 149 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Differently from SiH 4 -H 2 plasmas where H 2 %>90% is used to deposit microcrystalline films [15,17,[22][23][24][25][26], the a-Si to µc-Si transition in SiF 4 -based plasmas does not require a high H 2 dilution, as demonstrated by various papers. As an example, Shimizu and his group have reported [75] almost complete (400)-oriented µc-Si:H,F growth at gas flow ratios of SiF 4 /H 2 = 60/3 sccm at 300°C and 30 /14 sccm at 200°C, while at smaller SiF 4 /H 2 gas flow ratios such as 30/10 sccm, (220)-oriented µc-Si:H,F films were obtained using very high frequency (VHF: 100MHz).…”

Section: Amorphous To Microcrystalline Silicon Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, all the above cited works deposited microcrystalline silicon at T>230°C. Nevertheless, H 2 , i.e., the hydrogen-dilution ratio R (H 2 /SiH 4 ), has been reported by other groups to be important for aiding the amorphous-to-microcrystalline silicon phase transitions [15,17,[22][23][24][25][26], defects [62,63] and electronic properties [64][65][66][67][68].…”

Section: Relationship Occurring Between the Halogenated (Fluorine) Plmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The life-motif of improving stability against photodegradation of a-Si:H led researchers to demonstrate recently that "protocrystalline Si", produced near the amorphous-to-microcrystalline silicon transition regime, exhibits a higher degree of ordering with increased stability under light illumination [14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[15][16][17][22][23][24][25][26] or without H 2 dilution [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34], in the course of years various halogenated Si gas precursors, e.g. SiF 4 [35][36][37][38][39][40], SiCl 4 [41][42][43], and SiH 2 Cl 2 [44,45] have also been investigated and reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

From amorphous to microcrystalline silicon: Moving from one to the other by halogenated silicon plasma chemistry

Bruno

Capezzuto

Giangregorio

et al. 2009

Philosophical Magazine

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Section: Amorphous To Microcrystalline Silicon Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Relationship Occurring Between the Halogenated (Fluorine) Plmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

From amorphous to microcrystalline silicon: Moving from one to the other by halogenated silicon plasma chemistry

Bruno

Capezzuto

Giangregorio

et al. 2009

Philosophical Magazine

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“…Also, the increase in the parameter C indicates a reduced order in the film. 10 Accordingly, we can be speculate that an ultrathin contaminant layer is formed at the surface after UV irradiation due to the adsorption of residual species. On the contrary, 1 and 2 spectra all shift to lower energy and increase in peak amplitude after the UTA.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ ultraviolet treatment in an Ar ambient upon p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon–carbide windows of hydrogenated amorphous silicon based solar cells

Myong

Kim

Lim

2004

Applied Physics Letters

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We proposed an in situ postdeposition ultraviolet treatment in an Ar ambient ͑UTA͒ to improve the p / i interface of amorphous silicon based solar cell. We have increased the conversion efficiency by ϳ16% by improving the built-in potential and reducing recombination at the p / i interface. Through spectroscopic ellipsometry and Fourier-transform infrared measurements, it is concluded that the UTA process induces structural modification of the p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon-carbide ͑p-a-SiC: H͒ window layer. An ultrathin p-a-SiC: H contamination layer formed during the UTA process acts as a buffer layer at the interface. Hydrogenated p-type amorphous silicon-carbide ͑p-a -SiC: H͒ films have been widely used as window materials for amorphous silicon ͑a-Si: H͒ based solar cells due to their wide optical band gap. However, an abrupt heterojunction between a p-a-SiC: H window layer and an intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon ͑i-a-Si: H͒ absorber layer generates a considerable recombination loss of photogenerated carriers due to a highly defective interface with a short carrier lifetime. In addition, the low electrical conductivity of p-a-SiC: H severely limits the overall cell performance.Various buffer layers have been developed to solve the p-a-SiC: H / i-a-Si: H interface problem. [1][2][3] The insertion of these buffer layers at the p / i interface remarkably improves the conversion efficiency by forming a strong electric field in the absorber layer and diminishing electron backdiffusion to p-a-SiC: H. However, the additional buffer design is quite complex due to its various deposition parameters. Alternatively, the cell efficiency has been considerably improved by modifying the p / i interface through H 2 treatments. 4,5 However, since hydrogen plasma and photo-assisted hydrogen radicals significantly etch the surface of p-a-SiC: H, the window layer thickness and treatment time must be carefully controlled.In this letter, an in situ postdeposition ultraviolet-UV treatment in an Ar ambient ͑UTA͒ in a photoassisted chemical vapor deposition (photo-CVD) system has been proposed in order to easily overcome the recombination loss at the p / i interface without affecting the p-a-SiC: H layer thickness. Argon has been known to be a useful dilution gas for enhancing the crystallinity of p-type hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon ͑p-c-Si: H͒ 6 or the stability of i-a-Si: H. 7 In addition, Branz et al. reported improved stability of a-Si: H photosensitivity by UV illumination due to mobile hydrogen atom ͑H͒ migration in the bulk. 8 Using a photo-CVD system, we fabricated pin-type solar cells at 250°C with a reference structure (reference cell) of glass/ SnO 2 :F/ p-a-SiC: H ͑17.5 nm͒ / i-a-Si: H ͑600 nm/ n-c-Si: H͒͑40 nm͒/Al, and an area of 0.092 cm 2 .p-a-SiC: H films were grown by direct decomposition of a mixture of Si 2 H 6 , B 2 H 6 and C 2 H 4 reactant gases. To dissociate the mixture, a low-pressure mercury ͑Hg͒ lamp with resonance lines of 184.9 and 25.7 nm was used as an UV light source. Prior to th...

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Plasma‐Assisted Approaches in Inorganic Nanostructure Fabrication

et al. 2010

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Plasma is a unique medium for chemical reactions and materials preparations, which also finds its application in the current tide of nanostructure fabrication. Although plasma-assisted approaches have been long used in thin-film deposition and the top-down scheme of micro-/nanofabrication, fabrication of zero- and one-dimensional inorganic nanostructures through the bottom-up scheme is a relatively new focus of plasma application. In this article, recent plasma-assisted techniques in inorganic zero- and one-dimensional nanostructure fabrication are reviewed, which includes four categories of plasma-assisted approaches: plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, thermal plasma sintering with liquid/solid feeding, thermal plasma evaporation and condensation, and plasma treatment of solids. The special effects and the advantages of plasmas on nanostructure fabrication are illustrated with examples, emphasizing on the understandings and ideas for controlling the growth, structure, and properties during plasma-assisted fabrications. This Review provides insight into the utilization of the special properties of plasmas in nanostructure fabrication.

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Evolutionary phase diagrams for plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of silicon thin films from hydrogen-diluted silane

Cited by 149 publications

References 16 publications

From amorphous to microcrystalline silicon: Moving from one to the other by halogenated silicon plasma chemistry

From amorphous to microcrystalline silicon: Moving from one to the other by halogenated silicon plasma chemistry

In situ ultraviolet treatment in an Ar ambient upon p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon–carbide windows of hydrogenated amorphous silicon based solar cells

Plasma‐Assisted Approaches in Inorganic Nanostructure Fabrication

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