Enhancement of the Amorphous to Microcrystalline Phase Transition in Silicon Films Deposited by Sif4-H2-He Plasmas

1998 ◽  
Vol 536 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Cicalai ◽  
M. Losurdo ◽  
P. Capezzuto ◽  
G. Bruno ◽  
T. Ligonzo ◽  
...  

AbstractHydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) thin films have been obtained by plasma decomposition of SiF4-H2-He mixtures at low temperature (120 °C). The size of crystalline grain and their volume fraction with respect to the amorphous phase have been found dependent on the r.f. power as evaluated by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, microRaman and ellipsometry measurements. Chemical and electrical properties change according to the microcrystallinity. Pure and/or highly microcrystalline silicon has been obtained at temperature and r.f. power as low as 120 °C and 15 Watt.

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 983-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Elschner ◽  
Alexandr A. Levin ◽  
Lutz Wilde ◽  
Jörg Grenzer ◽  
Christian Schroer ◽  
...  

The electrical and optical properties of molecular thin films are widely used, for instance in organic electronics, and depend strongly on the molecular arrangement of the organic layers. It is shown here how atomic structural information can be obtained from molecular films without further knowledge of the single-crystal structure. C60 fullerene was chosen as a representative test material. A 250 nm C60 film was investigated by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction and the data compared with a Bragg–Brentano X-ray diffraction measurement of the corresponding C60 powder. The diffraction patterns of both powder and film were used to calculate the pair distribution function (PDF), which allowed an investigation of the short-range order of the structures. With the help of the PDF, a structure model for the C60 molecular arrangement was determined for both C60 powder and thin film. The results agree very well with a classical whole-pattern fitting approach for the C60 diffraction patterns.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 373-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Arsenault ◽  
D. E. Brodie

Zn-rich and P-rich amorphous Zn3P2 thin films were prepared by co-evaporation of the excess element during the normal Zn3P2 deposition. X-ray diffraction techniques were used to investigate the structural properties and the crystallization process. Agglomeration of the excess element within the as-made amorphous Zn3P2 thin film accounted for the structural properties observed after annealing the sample. Electrical measurements showed that excess Zn reduces the conductivity activation energy and increases the conductivity, while excess P up to 15 at.% does not alter the electrical properties significantly.


2019 ◽  

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films are materials of significance for their applications in optoelectronics and sun powered cells. Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) is an elective material in the advancement of TCO films. This paper reports the impact of fluorine doping on structural, optical and electrical properties of tin oxide thin films for solar cells application. The sol-gel was prepared from anhydrous stannous chloride, SnCl2 as an originator, 2-methoxyethanol as a solvent, di-ethanolamine as a preservative and ammonium fluoride as the dopant source. FTO precursor solution was formulated to obtain 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 % doping concentration and deposited on glass substrates by means of spin coater at the rate of 2000 rpm for 40 seconds. After pre-heated at 200 oC, the samples were annealed at 600 oC for 2 h. The structural, optical and electrical characteristics of prepared films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, UV-visible spectroscopy and electrical measurement. X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigation of the films demonstrated that the films were polycrystalline in nature with tetragonal-cassiterite structure with most extraordinary pinnacle having a grain size of 17.01 nm. Doping with fluorine decreases the crystallite size. There was increment in the absorbance of the film with increasing wavelength and the transmittance was basically reduced with increasing fluorine doping in the visible region. The energy band gaps were in the range of 4.106-4.121 eV. The sheet resistance were observed to decrease as the doping percentage of fluorine increased with exception at higher doping of 15 and 20 %. In view of these outcomes, FTO thin films prepared could have useful application in transparent conducting oxide electrode in solar cell.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2765
Author(s):  
Gabriele Calabrese ◽  
Candida Pipitone ◽  
Diego Marini ◽  
Francesco Giannici ◽  
Antonino Martorana ◽  
...  

In this study, the structure and morphology, as well as time, ultraviolet radiation, and humidity stability of thin films based on newly developed 1D (PRSH)PbX3 (X = Br, I) pseudo-perovskite materials, containing 1D chains of face-sharing haloplumbate octahedra, are investigated. All films are strongly crystalline already at room temperature, and annealing does not promote further crystallization or film reorganization. The film microstructure is found to be strongly influenced by the anion type and, to a lesser extent, by the DMF/DMSO solvent volume ratio used during film deposition by spin-coating. Comparison of specular X-ray diffraction and complementary grazing incidence X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the use of DMF/DMSO mixed solvents promotes the strengthening of a dominant 100 or 210 texturing, as compared the case of pure DMF, and that the haloplumbate chains always lie in a plane parallel to the substrate. Under specific DMF/DMSO solvent volume ratios, the prepared films are found to be highly stable in time (up to seven months under fluxing N2 and in the dark) and to highly moist conditions (up to 25 days at 78% relative humidity). Furthermore, for representative (PRSH)PbX3 films, resistance against ultraviolet exposure (λ = 380 nm) is investigated, showing complete stability after irradiation for up to 15 h at a power density of 600 mW/cm2. These results make such thin films interesting for highly stable perovskite-based (opto)electronic devices.


1999 ◽  
Vol 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Peiró ◽  
C. Voz ◽  
J. Bertomeu ◽  
J. Andreu ◽  
E. Martínez ◽  
...  

AbstractHydrogenated microcrystalline silicon films have been obtained by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) in a silane and hydrogen mixture at low pressure (<5 × 10-2 mbar). The structure of the samples and the residual stress were characterised by X- ray diffraction (XRD). Raman spectroscopy was used to estimate the volume fraction of the crystalline phase, which is in the range of 86 % to 98%. The stress values range between 150 and -140 MPa. The mechanical properties were studied by nanoindentation. Unlike monocrystalline wafers, there is no evidence of abrupt changes in the force-penetration plot, which have been attributed to a pressure-induced phase transition. The hardness was 12.5 GPa for the best samples, which is close to that obtained for silicon wafers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 120 (10) ◽  
pp. 104101 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Vaxelaire ◽  
V. Kovacova ◽  
A. Bernasconi ◽  
G. Le Rhun ◽  
M. Alvarez-Murga ◽  
...  

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