Kinetics of amorphous silicon dissolution into aluminum layers

This study investigates the temperature dependence of the formation of pores in amorphous silicon films for potential application with flexible polymer substrates. An 800 nm layer of amorphous silicon (a-Si) was deposited on a silicon dioxide/silicon (SiO2/Si) substrate followed by a 20 nm layer of aluminum (Al). Samples were annealed in a vacuum anneal furnace at temperatures between 300 and 600 °C, and were then analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Pore depths were measured using cross-section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), and an activation energy (EA) of 0.57 eV was derived for pore formation.