Development of large-area a-Si:H films deposition using controlled VHF plasma

A VHF plasma for a large-area a-Si:H films deposition has been produced using the ladder-shaped electrode and the phase modulation method. These techniques enable to average the voltage distribution along the electrode by a high-speed scanning of the voltage standing wave. The effects of these techniques are demonstrated on the a-Si:H films deposition using 1.4 m × 1.1 m substrates and on the self-cleaning using NF3 plasmas. The spatial irregularity of the deposition rate is about ± 15% and the self-cleaning rate is 5 nm/s.