Low temperature magnetron sputtering deposition of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon thin films without amorphous incubation layers on glass

• The μc-Si:H thin films were deposited by low temperature magnetron sputtering.
• The μc-Si:H thin films without the amorphous incubation layer was obtained.
• The possible growth mechanism of μc-Si:H thin films was discussed.

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) thin films were deposited on glass by magnetron sputtering at the substrate temperature of 100 °C and the hydrogen dilution ratio of 65%. The crystallinity and microstructure of thin films were systematically studied using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results showed that the μc-Si:H thin film was amorphous and hydrogen-rich at the initial stage of the growth. This amorphous layer was crystallized during further growth. The crystallinity of thin films is not almost changed with the increase of thickness when the thickness of thin film exceeds 70 nm. Finally, the μc-Si:H thin film without amorphous incubation layer was obtained. The possible growth mechanism of fabricating μc-Si:H thin films without amorphous incubation layers was also discussed.