AVS 49th International Symposium
    Plasma Science Tuesday Sessions
       Session PS-TuM

Paper PS-TuM6
Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon at Atmospheric Pressure

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 10:00 am, Room C-103

Session: Atmospheric Pressure and Other Emerging Plasma Applications
Presenter: M. Moravej, University of California, Los Angeles
Authors: M. Moravej, University of California, Los Angeles
S. Babayan, University of California, Los Angeles
G.R. Nowling, University of California, Los Angeles
X. Yang, University of California, Los Angeles
R.F. Hicks, University of California, Los Angeles
Correspondent: Click to Email
The plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of hydrogenated amorphous (a-Si:H) and hydrogenated microcrystalline (uc-Si:H) silicon has been examined at ambient pressure. A hydrogen and helium gas mixture flowed through two electrodes supplied with 50 W RF power at 13.56 MHz. Silane was added downstream from this plasma, and the reactive mixture directed onto a heated glass substrate. After growth the thickness of the films was determined using a profilometer. The deposition rate increased with the H2 and SiH4 partial pressures and saturates at approximately 70 @Ao@/min for both parameters. The deposition rate also increased with substrate temperature following an Arrhenius relation with an activation energy of 3.44 kJ/mol. However the growth rate decreased from 92 @Ao@/min to 13 @Ao@/min as the electrode-to-substrate distance increased from 10.5 mm to 5 mm. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the structure and chemical composition of the films. The effect of the process conditions on the hydrogen content and degree of crystallinity of the films will be discussed at the meeting.