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EVALUATION OF MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON FILMS DEPOSITED BY ULTRAFAST THERMAL PLASMA CVD

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Yongkee Chae ,
Hiromasa Ohno ,
Keisuke Eguchi  and
Toyonobu Yoshida
Yongkee Chae
Affiliation:
The University of Tokyo, Dept of Materials Engineering, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyoku, Tokyo 113-8656, JAPAN
Hiromasa Ohno
Affiliation:
The University of Tokyo, Dept of Materials Engineering, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyoku, Tokyo 113-8656, JAPAN
Keisuke Eguchi
Affiliation:
The University of Tokyo, Dept of Materials Engineering, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyoku, Tokyo 113-8656, JAPAN
Toyonobu Yoshida
Affiliation:
The University of Tokyo, Dept of Materials Engineering, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyoku, Tokyo 113-8656, JAPAN
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Abstract

This research is the first attempt at applying thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition (TPCVD) for the ultrafast deposition of Si films for solar cells. A conventional deposition process of Si films, such as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), is capable of a maximum deposition rate of approximately 5 Å/s and it takes a relatively long time to deposit an intrinsic layer. In this paper we report a novel ultrafast deposition approach using dc-rf hybrid TPCVD. The extreme improvement of stability, controllability, and cleanliness of the process enabled the deposition of microcrystalline Si films at the ultrafast rate of over 1000 nm/s, which is about 2000 times faster than that by conventional CVD. Moreover, a minimum defect density of 7.2×1016 cm−3was achieved by post-treatment of the film in 2 Torr H2/Ar plasma. Monte-Carlo simulation and step coverage analysis suggested that the precursor is an approximately 1 nm cluster with a sticking probability of about 0.6. The success of this research will lead to the development of commercially viable technology in a roll-to-roll system in the near future, and will fundamentally change the established concepts of Si deposition technology.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 664: Symposium A – Amorphous and Heterogeneous Silicon-Based Films-2001 , 2001 , A4.4
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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References

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