Effect of filament biasing on nanocrystalline-Si films deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition

Nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) films were deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition with applying positive or negative filament biases. These films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Plasmon loss of the Si(2p) band region was shifted to higher energy due to dielectric changes with applied filament biases from negative to positive voltage. A semi-quantitative study of the valence band structure was employed to analyze the bias effect of the valance band in nc-Si networks. Nc-Si with a positive filament bias shows better microstructural properties than those with a negative bias and without biasing nc-Si films.