MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON THIN FILMS PREPARED BY RF REACTIVE MAGNETRON SPUTTER DEPOSITION

摘要

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon mu c-Si: Hi thin films with Cu as a dopant material (about 2 wt.%) were deposited by RF planar magnetron sputtering in an argon/hydrogen plasma. The composition and microstructure of the films were analysed by SEM, ERD/RBS, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. These techniques revealed a columnar film structure each column consisting of several small (nano) crystals with a lateral dimension up to 100 Angstrom. The crystals are oriented, generally with the (111) plane parallel to the sample surface. The hydrogen content of the thin films is about 27-33 at. %. Low deposition rates and low sputter gas pressures favour crystallisation and grain growth. The behaviour can be understood in terms of the diffusion or relaxation length Lambda of the deposited Si-atoms. [References: 17]