Real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry study of the growth of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon thin films prepared by alternating silicon deposition and hydrogen plasma treatment

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 5136-5143 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Layadi ◽  
P. Roca i Cabarrocas ◽  
B. Drévillon ◽  
I. Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Plasma Treatment ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry ◽  
Hydrogen Plasma ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Silicon Deposition ◽  
Silicon Thin Films

scholarly journals Real time and ex situ spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis microcrystalline silicon thin films growth

2012 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 036802
Author(s):  
Li Xin-Li ◽  
Gu Jin-Hua ◽  
Gao Hai-Bo ◽  
Chen Yong-Sheng ◽  
Gao Xiao-Yong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Silicon Thin Films

Nucleation Mechanism of Microcrystalline Silicon Studied by Real Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Infrared Spectroscopy

2000 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Fujiwara ◽  
Yasutake Toyoshima ◽  
Michio Kondo ◽  
Akihisa Matsuda
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Treatment ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry ◽  
Nucleation Mechanism ◽  
Total Reflection ◽  
Attenuated Total Reflection ◽  
Reflection Spectroscopy ◽  
Microcrystalline Silicon ◽  
Strained Si ◽  
Initial Layers

ABSTRACTWe have characterized a-Si:H initial layers for μc-Si:H nucleation by real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (ATR) to investigate the μc-Si:H formation mechanism. By performing Ar plasma treatment of a-Si:H layers, we confirmed a presence of a 2 monolayer thick sub-surface in a-Si:H layers. In the a-Si:H sub-surface that leads to the μc-Si:H nucleation, an important peak at ∼1937 cm−1 assigned to the SiHn complex was found in the ATR spectra. From H2 plasma treatment experiments, we proposed that this SiHn complex is formed by H insertion into strained Si-Si bonds. The SiHn complex formed in the a-Si:H sub-surface showed a clear relationship with the μc-Si:H nucleation. From these results, we conclude that the μc-Si:H nucleation occurs by the formation of the chemically active and flexible SiHn complexes in the 2 monolayer thick a-Si:H sub-surface.

Thickness effect on hydrogen plasma treatment on polycrystalline silicon thin films

1995 ◽  
Vol 66 (22) ◽  
pp. 3013-3014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bor Wen Liou ◽  
Yi Huang Wu ◽  
Chung Len Lee ◽  
Tan Fu Lei
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Plasma Treatment ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Hydrogen Plasma ◽  
Thickness Effect ◽  
Silicon Thin Films

Analysis of Compositionally and Structurally Graded Si:H and Si1−xGex:H Thin Films by Real Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

2008 ◽  
Vol 1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolas Podraza ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Christopher R. Wronski ◽  
Mark W. Horn ◽  
Elizabeth C. Dickey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry ◽  
Silicon Germanium ◽  
Hydrogen Plasma ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Amorphous Film ◽  
Case Depth ◽  
Compositional Evolution

ABSTRACTSilicon-germanium (Si1−xGex:H) thin films have been prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of SiH4 and GeH4 and measured during growth using real time spectroscopic ellipsometry. A two-layer virtual interface analysis has been applied to study the structural evolution of Si:H films prepared in multistep processes utilizing alternating intermediate and low H2-dilution material layers, which have been designed to produce predominately amorphous films with a controlled distribution of microcrystalline particles. The compositional evolution of alloy-graded a-Si1−xGex:H has been studied as well using similar methods. In each case, depth profiles of microcrystalline content, fμc, or Ge content, x, have been extracted. Additionally, real time spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to monitor post-deposition exposure of a-Si:H, a-Si1−xGex:H, and a-Ge:H films to a hydrogen plasma in situ in order to determine sub-surface amorphous film modification similar to that which would occur when a highly H2-diluted layer is deposited on a layer prepared with lower dilution. These analyses provide guidance for enhanced performance of Si:H based solar cells, through controlled bandgap grading using compositionally graded amorphous binary alloys (a-Si1−xGex:H) or the incorporation of controlled fractions of microcrystallites into bulk amorphous i-layer materials, and by providing a fundamental understanding of the modification of component layers during the deposition of subsequent layers in multilayer stacks.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document