Medium-Range Order in a-Si:H Below and Above the Onset of Microcrystallinity

1999 ◽  
Vol 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Williamson

AbstractMedium range order (MRO) and the formation of microcrystallites in a-Si:H prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) have been probed by systematic x-ray diffraction studies with films as thin as those used in solar cells. Effects of substrate temperature, hydrogen dilution, film thickness, and type of substrate have been examined. High-hydrogen-diluted films of 0.5 μm thickness, using optimized deposition parameters for solar cell efficiency and stability, are found to be partially microcrystalline (μc) if deposited directly on stainless steel (SS) substrates but are fully amorphous provided a thin (20 nm) n-layer of a-Si:H or μc-Si:H is first deposited on the SS. The latter predeposition does not prevent partially microcrystallinity if the films are grown thicker (1.5 to 2.5 μm) and this is consistent with a recently proposed phase diagram of thickness versus hydrogen dilution. Analysis of the first (lowest angle) scattering peak of the a-Si:H phase demonstrates that its width, directly related to MRO, is reduced by heavier hydrogen dilution in PECVD growth or by increased substrate temperature in HWCVD growth. The narrowest width of fully amorphous material correlates with better solar cell stability and this is not likely related to bonded hydrogen content since it is quite different in the optimized PECVD and HWCVD a-Si:H. A wide range of MRO apparently exists in the residual amorphous phase of the mixed a/μc material.

2000 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Voyles ◽  
M. M. J. Treacy ◽  
H-C. Jin ◽  
J. R. Abelson ◽  
J. M. Gibson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe have characterized by fluctuation electron microscopy the medium-range order of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films deposited by a variety of methods. Films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering, hot-wire chemical vapor deposition, and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition with and without H2 dilution of the SiH4 precursor gas. All of the films show the signature of the paracrystalline structure typical of amorphous Si. There are small variations in the degree of medium-range order with deposition method and H content. The PECVD film grown with high H2 dilution contains Si crystals ∼5 nm in diameter at a density of ∼109 cm−2. The amorphous matrix surrounding these crystals shows no difference in mediumrange order from the standard PECVD film. This supports explanations of the resistance of the H-dilution material to light-induced degradation that depend only on the presence of crystalline grains without modifications of the amorphous matrix.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (16-19) ◽  
pp. 1744101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bitao Chen ◽  
Yingke Zhang ◽  
Qiuping Ouyang ◽  
Fei Chen ◽  
Xinghua Zhan ◽  
...  

SiNx thin film has been widely used in crystalline silicon solar cell production because of the good anti-reflection and passivation effect. We can effectively optimize the cells performance by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method to change deposition conditions such as temperature, gas flow ratio, etc. In this paper, we deposit a new layer of SiNx thin film on the basis of double-layers process. By changing the process parameters, the compactness of thin films is improved effectively. The NH3passivation technology is augmented in a creative way, which improves the minority carrier lifetime. In sight of this, a significant increase is generated in the photoelectric performance of crystalline silicon solar cell.


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 1275-1280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Morikawa ◽  
M. Hirai ◽  
A. Ohi ◽  
M. Kusaka ◽  
M. Iwami

We have studied the heteroepitaxial growth of 3C–SiC film on an Si(100) substrate by plasma chemical vapor deposition using monomethylsilane, a single-molecule gas containing both Si and C atoms. We have tried to introduce an interval process, in which we decrease the substrate temperature for a few minutes at a suitable stage of film growth. It was expected that, during the interval process, stabilization such as desorption of nonreacted precursors and lateral diffusion of species produced at the initial stage of film growth would occur. From the results, it appears that the interval process using a substrate temperature of 800 °C effectively suppresses polycrystallization of 3C–SiC growth on the Si(100) surface


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larionette P. L. Mawlong ◽  
Ravi K. Biroju ◽  
P. K. Giri

We report on the growth of an ordered array of MoS2 nanodots (lateral sizes in the range of ∼100–250 nm) by a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method directly onto SiO2 substrates at a relatively low substrate temperature (510–560°C). The temperature-dependent growth and evolution of MoS2 nanodots and the local environment of sulfur-induced structural defects and impurities were systematically investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. At the substrate temperature of 560°C, we observed mostly few-layer MoS2, and at 510°C, multilayer MoS2 growth, as confirmed from the Raman line shape analysis. With reduced substrate temperature, the density of MoS2 nanodots decreases, and layer thickness increases. Raman studies show characteristic Raman modes of the crystalline MoS2 layer, along with two new Raman modes centered at ∼346 and ∼361 cm−1, which are associated with MoO2 and MoO3 phases, respectively. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) studies revealed strong visible PL from MoS2 layers, which is strongly blue-shifted from the bulk MoS2 flakes. The strong visible emission centered at ∼ 658 nm signifies a free excitonic transition in the direct gap of single-layer MoS2. Position-dependent PL profiles show excellent uniformity of the MoS2 layers for samples grown at 540 and 560°C. These results are significant for the low-temperature CVD growth of a few-layer MoS2 dots with direct bandgap photoluminescence on a flexible substrate.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (04) ◽  
pp. 1730003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruiwen Xue ◽  
Irfan H. Abidi ◽  
Zhengtang Luo

Over the past a few years, high-quality graphene preparation has been evolved from low-yield micromechanical exfoliation in including a wide range of production methods, in particular by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Here, we review the state-of-the-art on synthesis of graphene using CVD method and the strategies to control the graphene grain size, number of layers and morphology, mainly focusing on the graphene growth that uses Cu as substrate. We highlight the success of the past research in the field and provide a review of the methods that were used for such controlled synthesis.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2703-2706 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Vargas Garcia ◽  
E. M. Lazcano Ugalde ◽  
F. Hernandez Santiago ◽  
J. M. Hallen Lopez

The influence of the deposition conditions on the structural features and electrochromic properties of nickel oxide (NiO) films prepared by chemical vapor deposition has been investigated. NiO films have been prepared on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates from nickel-acetylacetonate precursor and their electrochromic properties have been studied by cyclic voltammetry in a 0.1 M KOH solution at room temperature. Films exhibiting only the NiO phase were obtained at deposition temperatures higher than 450 °C in a wide range of reactor pressures (0.13 to 66.6 kPa). Particularly, NiO films prepared at 500–550 °C from 0.13 to 53.3 kPa are transparent in nature and exhibit a crystallite size varying from 10 to 60 nm. An appreciable anodic electrochromic change from transparent to black coloured resulted from a very porous surface morphology and film thickness of about 3.5 μm. The electrochromic change was maintained over 3000 switching cycles. Nanostructured 3.5 μm-thick NiO films showed a maximum difference in optical transmittance of about 40% in the near-infrared region. These results make the nanostructured NiO films comparables with those prepared by other deposition techniques.


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