Anomalous Hall effect in microcrystalline Si:H films

The anomalous sign of the Hall coefficient in amorphous semiconductors is still poorly understood. It seems accepted, however, that an anomalous sign of the Hall coefficient indicates a different charge transport mechanism compared to free carrier motion on which the Lorentz force is acting. We find anomalous Hall coefficient signs in phosphorus-doped microcrystalline silicon films after irradiation with high energy electrons and subsequent annealing. These films are mixtures of amorphous and crystalline phases. We analyze measurements of Hall effect, electrical conductivity, and thermopower on such samples prior to and after electron irradiation and annealing, and use the anomalous Hall effect sign as a phenomenological indication of electronic transport in the amorphous phase. We deduce that the material consists of crystalline particles embedded in an amorphous matrix.     

Properties of microcrystalline P doped Si:H films

Microcrystalline (μc) P (phosphorous) doped Si:H films have been prepared on several substrates by glow discharge decomposition in a mixture of H₂, PH₃ and SiH₄ under various deposition conditions. The P content in deposited μc-films strongly depended on the deposition conditions. Their electrical properties were not much affected by the volume fraction of crystalline phase but were rather determined by the P content. The incorporation mechanism of P atoms into Si:H film is discussed.     

Mass-transfer analysis of a:Si:H deposition by the glow discharge process

The deposition rate and the gas efficiencies in the glow discharge plasma process are calculated by solving the convective diffusion equations for the precursor gas and the condensable species which are created by the discharge. The theoretical predictions are compared with experimental results obtained with a cross-flow reactor.     

The location,evolution, and role of fluorine in glow discharge a-Si:F

Amorphous Si:F films werer prepared by d.c. glow-discharge decomposition of a mixture of SiF₂+SiF₄ gas. Fluorine content, infra-red absorptance, electron spin density and electronic transport properties were determined as a function of both deposition and annealing temperatures. The role of fluorine in a-Si:F is discussed on the basis of the results.     

The effects of deposition parameters on a-Si:H films fabricated by microwave glow discharge techniques

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films have been fabricated by a novel method of microwave glow-discharge deposition from SiH₄ and H₂, operating at 2.45 GHz. The properties of the deposited films are dependent upon the confinement of the microwave plasma by a magnetic field, and upon the orientation of the substrates with respect to the electric field. The quality of these materials is comparable to that of films deposited in conventional radio-frequency glow-discharge systems.     

Some new results on transport and density of state distribution in glow discharge microcrystalline silicon

The electronic properties of the material are discussed on the basis of the grain boundary trapping model proposed for polycrystalline Si. In spite of the difference in crystallite sizes it is shown that the model is applicable, leading to 10¹¹ cm^?2 filled states between crystallites. Gap state densities between 2 × 10¹⁸ and 4 × 10¹⁸cm^?3eV^?1 are deduced from field effect measurements.     

Deposition and properties of a-Si:H by cylindrical diode glow discharge

The effect of plasma parameter on the properties of a-Si:H films prepared by glow discharge process in cylindrical diode system has been studied. The glow discharge plasma is examined by measurements of the emission spectra for H, H₂, SiH and Si radicals, the mass spectra for primary decomposed and secondary polymerized ions, and the rf discharge impedance. The plasma reactions are dominated by the rf electric potential V_p and silane gas pressure p. The nucleation of SiH₂ bonding depends critically on the electron and ion bombardments and the plasma polymerization.     

Formation of microcrystalline structure in a-Si:H films prepared by RF sputtering

Formation of microcrystalline structure in a-Si:H films prepared by RF sputtering has been investigated by TEM and FT-IR. The Films deposited in pure H₂ have grain-like structure and tend to crystallize with increasing the gas pressure, while the films deposited in Ar containing 10 % H₂ usually become amorphous. With increasing input power and the gas pressure, however, the latter films tend to have amorphous-microcrystalline mixed structure, and corresponding to this structural change, shift of optical absorption edge to lower energy and decreases of resistivity and activation energy of its temperature dependence are observed.     

Characterization and luminescence of a-Si:H:Cl films

a-Si:H:Cl films have been deposited by glow-discharge and characterized by infrared transmission, optical absorption and photoluminescence. The influence of growth parameters on the H and Cl content has been investigated. The luminescence spectra show that three different radiative transitions can occur, at 0.75, 0.95 and ～1.3 eV. These bands have been interpreted respectively in terms of the following recombinations: defect to defect, defect to band tail, band tail to band tail.     

Formation kinetics and control of microcrystallite in μc-Si:H from glow discharge plasma

The formation kinetics of μc-Si:H has been investigated through the film depositions and plasma diagnoses in widely-scanned glow discharge plasma conditions; RF power density, SiH₄/H₂ ratio and substrate temperature. The roles of H and SiH_x adsorbed on the surface as well as impinging ions have been discussed in relation to volume fraction and crystallite size of μc films, and continuous control of crystallite size has been demonstrated using a triode system. Hall mobility of the deposited μc-Si:H films has also been presented as a function of the volume fraction of μc.     

Correlation between micro-roughness,surface chemistry,and performance of crystalline Si/amorphous Si:H:Cl hetero-junction solar cells

The correlation between micro-roughness, surface chemistry, and performance of crystalline Si/amorphous Si:H:Cl hetero-junction solar cells is discussed through a deposition study of amorphous Si:H:Cl (a-Si:H:Cl) films by rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a SiH₂Cl₂–H₂ mixture. The degree of H- and Cl-termination on the growing surface determined the degree of micro-roughness at the p-type a-Si:H:Cl/intrinsic a-Si:H:Cl interface and solar cell performance. A higher degree of Cl-termination compared to H-termination was effective to suppress the micro-roughness at the growing surface and oxygen incorporation into the film, as well as chemical reduction of the intrinsic a-Si:H:Cl layer during the underneath p-layer formation. The study showed that a-Si:H:Cl deposited from SiH₂Cl₂ is a potential material for c-Si hetero-junction solar cells with an intrinsic a-Si:H:Cl thin layer.     

Influence of hydrogen on the thermomechanical properties of a-CNx:H and a-CNx films deposited by glow discharge and ion beam assisted deposition

The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, stress and hardness of a-CN_x and a-CN_x:H were investigated as a function of nitrogen concentration. Hydrogenated films were prepared by glow discharge, GD, and unhydrogenated films were prepared by ion beam assisted deposition, IBAD. Using nanohardness measurements and the thermally induced bending technique, it was possible to extract separately, Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio. A strong influence of hydrogen, in a-CN_x:H films, was observed on the CTE, which reaches about ∼9 × 10⁻⁶ C⁻¹, close to that of graphite (∼8 × 10⁻⁶ C⁻¹) for nitrogen concentration as low as 5 at.%. On the other hand, the CTE of unhydrogenated films increases with nitrogen concentration at a much lower rate, reaching 5.5 × 10⁻⁶ C⁻¹ for 33 at.% nitrogen.     

Study of anomalous behavior of steady state photoconductivity in highly crystallized undoped microcrystalline Si films

The photoconductivity (σ_ph) of highly crystallized dense undoped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) films was measured as a function of light illumination over a wide temperature range (∼15–325 K). A thermal quenching behavior in σ_ph was observed at ∼240 K. The photoconductivity exponent (γ) was found to be sublinear with γ as low as 0.13. A density of states (DOS) profile having a steep conduction band tail, and valence band tail with two distinct distributions was found to be necessary to understand the electronic transport behavior in the inherently heterogeneous μc-Si:H films.     

The interpretation of the electric and optical properties of a-Si:H films produced by rf glow discharge through dark conductivity,photoconductivity and pulse controlled capacitance-voltage measurements

This paper deals with the interpretation of transport properties of amorphous silicon hydrogenated films (a-Si:H) through dark conductivity, photoconductivity and pulse controlled capacitance-voltage measurements. a-Si:H films were produced by rf glow discharge coupled either inductively or capacitively to a 3% SiH₄/Ar mixture at different crossed electromagnetic static fields. The data concerned with the dark activation energy, photoactivation energy, variation of the density of localized states and photosensitivity, (σ_ph/σ_d)_25°C, of a-Si:H films can account for their optoelectronic properties which are strongly dependent on the deposition parameters. We also observed that crossed electromagnetic static fields applied during film formation influences hydrogen incorporation in a different manner than previously proposed.     

Optical properties of microcrystalline 3C–SiC:H films measured by resonant photothermal bending spectroscopy

Optical absorption coefficient spectra of hydrogenated microcrystalline cubic silicon carbide (μc-3C–SiC:H) films prepared by Hot-Wire CVD method have been estimated for the first time by resonant photothermal bending spectroscopy (resonant-PBS). The optical bandgap energy and its temperature coefficient of μc-3C–SiC:H film is found to be about 2.2 eV and 2.3 × 10⁻⁴ eV K⁻¹, respectively. The absorption coefficient spectra of localized states, which are related to grain boundaries, do not change by exposure of air and thermal annealing. The localized state of μc-3C–SiC:H has different properties for impurity incorporation compared with that of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) film.     

Mechanisms of the growth of nanocrystalline Si:H films deposited by PECVD

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) films were deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition from a SiF₄/SiH₄/H₂ gas mixtures. Properties were examined of nc-Si:H films produced by decreasing the deposition temperature (T_d) under two different hydrogen dilution ([H₂]) conditions. For these films, the X-ray diffraction, the Raman scattering, the Fourier transform infrared absorption and the stress were investigated. Our results show that the decrease in T_d has significant effects in the decrease of the average grain size (〈δ〉), the crystalline volume fraction (ρ) values, and an increase in the density of SiH-related bonds (N_SiH) values. On the contrary, increases in [H₂] decreased the 〈δ〉 and the N_SiH, while the ρ were increased. Our experiments also confirmed that the increase in ρ corresponds with the decrease in N_SiH. In view of these results, it may be concluded that the use of both low T_d and high [H₂] conditions might lead to growth of nc-Si:H films with small grains and high crystallinity. In this context, the surface processes (such as diffusion and etching) for the growth of nc-Si:H films were extensively discussed in this current work.     

Toward the fast deposition of highly crystallized microcrystalline silicon films with low defect density for Si thin-film solar cells

In this study, employing a high-density, low-temperature SiH₄–H₂ mixture microwave plasma, we investigate the influence of source gas supply configuration on deposition rate and structural properties of microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) films, and demonstrate the plasma parameters for fast deposition of highly crystallized μc-Si films with low defect density. A fast deposition rate of 65 Å/s has been achieved for a SiH₄ concentration of 67% diluted in H₂ with a high Raman crystallinity of X_c > 65% and a low defect density of (1–2) × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ by adjusting source gas supply configuration and plasma conditions. A sufficient supply of deposition precursors, such as SiH₃, as well as atomic hydrogen H on film growing surface is effective for the high-rate synthesis of highly crystallized μc-Si films, for the reduction in defect density, and for the improvement in film homogeneity and compactability. A preliminary result of p–i–n structure μc-Si thin-film solar cells using the resulting μc-Si films as an intrinsic absorption layer is presented.     

Packing analysis of racket-like molecules: C6H5MX (M=metal,X=Cl,Br, I). Crystal structure determination of microcrystalline C6H5HgCl by XRD

Relationships between molecular shape and its crystal packing are studied. The XRD crystal structure of macrocrystals and microcrystals of C₆H₅HgX, and their VDW packing analysis, suggest two isoenergetic packing models for racket-like molecules. One of them favoring the crystal growth, and the other more frequent forming microcrystalline aggregates.     

Local bonding of hydrogen in a-Si:H,a-Ge:H and a-Si,Ge:H alloy films

This paper reviews the local bonding of hydrogen (and deuterium) in a-Si:H(D), a-Ge:H(D) and a-Si, Ge:H(D) alloy films. We specify the types of atomic environments that have been identified through vibrational spectroscopy, primarily infrared (IR) absorption. We emphasize local modes and discuss the atomic motions that are responsible for the various spectral features. We discuss correlations between the occurrence of specific local bonding groups, e.g., polysilane and polygermane configurations, and the deposition techniques and parameters, including the substrate temperature (T_s), the gas mixtures and the RF power into a glow discharge, etc. We include a discussion of the theoretical approaches that have been used to treat vibrational modes in these materials. We emphasize the approximations that are valid because of the relatively light mass of the hydrogen and deuterium atoms compared with those of the silicon and germanium atoms. Finally we highlight the effects of neighboring alloy or impurity atoms on the frequencies of hydrogen vibrations in a-Si:H, and point out the differences between oxygen atom incorporation in a-Si and a-Ge alloys.