Structural evolution in amorphous silicon and germanium thin films. |
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| Authors: | L J Chen S L Cheng C H Yu P Y Su H H Lin K S Chi |
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| Institution: | Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China. |
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| Abstract: | The structural evolution in amorphous silicon and germanium thin films has been investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in conjunction with autocorrelation function (ACF) analysis. The results established that the structure of as-deposited semiconductor films is of a high density of nanocrystallites embedded in the amorphous matrix. In addition, from ACF analysis, the structure of a-Ge is more ordered than that of a-Si. The density of embedded nanocrystallites in amorphous films was found to diminish with annealing temperature first, then to increase. The conclusions also corroborate well with the results of diminished medium-range order in annealed amorphous films determined previously by a variable coherence microscopy method. |
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