Dual hot-wire arrangement for the deposition of silicon and silicon carbide thin films

• A dual hot-wire arrangement consisting of Ta and Re wire sets was developed.
• This dual wire arrangement can be mechanically stable with proper treatment on the wire surface.
• Silicon and silicon carbide films of good quality were prepared with Ta and Re wires respectively.
• The dual wire arrangement provides a solution for the preparation of multiple materials in a single hot-wire chamber.

A dual hot-wire arrangement has been designed and investigated for the deposition of various thin film materials by the hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) technique. Tantalum and rhenium wires were used for silicon and silicon carbide depositions with hydrogen diluted silane and monomethylsilane, respectively. It is shown that the both types of filaments are mechanically stable after alternate depositions of silicon and silicon carbide with a total deposition time of about 80 h. Good material quality of the deposited films is demonstrated. By taking advantage of this dual hot-wire arrangement, it is possible to deposit both kinds of thin film materials with the individual optimum deposition conditions in a single HWCVD chamber.