On a presence of SimHn clusters in a-Si:H/c-Si structures

Dominant aim of the paper was to verify the existence of the SimHn clusters in a-Si:H layers. Thin layers were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on both glass and crystalline silicon substrates. Their IR and structural properties were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction at grazing incidence angle (XRDGI). We have found that the layer probably consists of larger structurally ordered parts corresponding to SimHn clusters and separated groups of (Si-Hx)N. The ordered parts could be identified as some of SimHn clusters ranging from (10, 16) to (84, 64) represented by corresponding vibration frequencies in three following IR regions: 600-750, 830-900 and 2080-2180 cm−1. XRDGI measurement indicates that diffraction maximum at around 2Θ = 28° can be attributed to an existing SimHn cluster.