High Density Plasma Processing of Microcrystalline Si Thin Films

In the present work, we report on the fabrication of high quality microcrystalline Si thin films by high-density PECVD technique. The typical deposition rate of the HD-PECVD μ-Si thin films was greater than 350 Å/min in the H2/SiH4 ratio range of 20-100. For a 150-nm-thick film deposited at a H2/SiH4 ratio of 20, the typical microcrystalline volume fraction and the average crystallite size corresponding to <111> orientation were 75% and 160 Å, respectively. The observed growth and properties of the μ-Si thin films show the potential of the high-density PECVD technique for the low temperature processing of high quality films with superior control of bulk and interfacial characteristics.