Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Annealing on Resistivity of Boron-Doped Hydrogenated Nanocrystalline Silicon Thin Films

Abstract

Boron-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin films were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Microstructures of these films were characterized and analyzed by Raman spectrum and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Thickness and resistivity of these films was measured by high-resolution profilometer and four-point probe respectively. The impact of annealing on boron-doped nc-Si:H thin films’ resistivity and the relationship between resistivity and microstructure were investigated. The results show that annealing and the annealing temperature have great impact on resistivity of nc-Si:H thin films as a result of microstructures changing after annealing. Resistivity of nc-Si:H thin films decreases after annealing, but it rises with the increasing annealing temperature in the range of 250°C to 400°C.