ABSTRACTGas desorption measurements have been performed on sputter deposited silicon films. The sputter gas was argon or krypton. Parameters influencing the incorporation process e.g. bias voltage, substrate temperature and arrival rate ratio of silicon and noble gas atoms have been systematically varied. The films, a-Si and c-Si, have been characterised by various techniques for composition and defect analysis. A model has been applied to describe the composition of the growing silicon layer. Underlying mechanisms like gas-gas sputtering have been studied in separate ion implantation experiments. For a-Si concentrations as high as 6% Ar and Kr have been found. An important effect is the injection of self- interstitial atoms caused by the low energy heavy ion bombardment. It causes the layer to grow without large open volume defects.
Noble Gas Incorporation in Sputtered and Ion Beam Assisted Grown Silicon Films