Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1484682 | Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids | 2008 | 4 Pages |
High quality nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) film was deposited by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) without substrate RF bias at 350 °C. The nc-Si with a dense crystalline structure of the columnar type grew from the bottom to the top of the nc-Si film. A troublesome incubation layer did not exist at the bottom of the fabricated nc-Si film. A grain size of 40 nm was measured by using a SEM image. When a RF bias of 100 and 200 W was applied to the substrate to induce ion bombardment on the substrate, the crystalline structure and grains were not observed and a-Si deposition became dominant. The transition from nc-Si deposition into a-Si deposition can be attributed to ion bombardment which prevents nucleation and crystal growth at the surface of deposition. This shows that the reduction of ion bombardment can be a key factor to fabricate high quality nc-Si film. By using ICP-CVD with no substrate RF bias, ion bombardment can be reduced, while the density of plasma is kept high, so that high quality nc-Si can be fabricated due to the enhancement of crystalline growth on the surface.