In-Situ Monitoring of Surface Hydrogen on the a-SiGe:H Films

ABSTRACTThe bonded hydrogen on the growing surface of hydrogenated amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe:H) alloy films has been investigated by use of infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IR-RAS). When the alloy films are Si-rich, the surface hydrogen bonded to Si atoms is found to behave in a similar way to those on the hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films. This means that the thermal desorption stability of surface Si hydride species is not significantly affected by the coexistence of a small amount (typically 20 at.%) of Ge. On the contrary, the desorption behavior of surface hydrogen depends on the alloy composition when the a-SiGe:H films are Ge-rich. A surface reaction scheme is provided in an attempt to explain this series of behavior in surface hydrogen on the a-SiGe:H films.