Charge storage characteristics of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon film prepared by rapid thermal annealing

The early stages of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H)films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition werecharacterized by atomic force microscopy. To increase the density ofnanocrystals in the nc-Si:H films, the films were annealed by rapidthermal annealing (RTA) at different temperatures and then analysedby Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the recrystallizationprocess of the film was optimal at around 1000℃. The effectsof different RTA conditions on charge storage were characterized bycapacitance--voltage measurement. Experimental results show thatnc-Si:H films obtained by RTA have good charge storagecharacteristics for nonvolatile memory.