Low temperature growth of polycrystalline Si on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films using pulsed-plasma CVD under near atmospheric pressure

High quality polycrystalline Si films deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates without incubation layers have been achieved with high growth rate (40 nm/min) using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) operated at near atmospheric pressures. A short-pulse based power system was employed to maintain a stable discharge H2-diluted SiH4 in the near atmospheric pressures without the use of any inert gases such as He. Highly crystallized features were observed using Raman scattering spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Observations by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (X-TEM) suggested that the Si polycrystallites were generated directly on the PET substrates without forming the incubation layers.