Solid phase crystallization of hot-wire CVD amorphous silicon films

2005 ◽  
Vol 862 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Young ◽  
Paul Stradins ◽  
Eugene Iwaniczko ◽  
Bobby To ◽  
Bob Reedy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
High Deposition Rate ◽  
Halogen Lamp ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Solid Phase Crystallization ◽  
Glass Substrates ◽  
Tube Furnaces ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

AbstractWe measure times for complete solid phase crystallization (SPC) of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films that vary eight orders of magnitude, from a few ms to a few days. The time-to-crystallization activation energy is consistent with literature values of approximately 3.4 eV but the prefactor is markedly different for hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) films than for plasma-enhanced (PE) CVD films. The crystallized films were 0.3 – 2 μm thick, and deposited by high deposition rate (10-100 Å/s) HWCVD or standard PECVD onto glass substrates. We annealed these a-Si:H films over a wide temperature range (500 to 1100 °C) using techniques including simple hot-plates and tube furnaces, rapid thermal annealing by a tungsten-halogen lamp, and microwave electromagnetic heating at 2.45 GHz (magnetron) and 110 GHz (gyrotron).

Rapid solid-phase crystallization of high-rate, hot-wire chemical-vapor-deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon

2006 ◽  
Vol 89 (16) ◽  
pp. 161910 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Young ◽  
Paul Stradins ◽  
Yueqin Xu ◽  
Lynn Gedvilas ◽  
Bob Reedy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Solid Phase Crystallization ◽  
Chemical Vapor Deposited ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

Comparative Study of Solid-Phase Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Deposited by Hot-wire CVD, Plasma-Enhanced CVD, and Electron-Beam Evaporation

2007 ◽  
Vol 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stradins ◽  
Oliver Kunz ◽  
David L. Young ◽  
Yanfa Yan ◽  
Kim M. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Beam ◽  
Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Physical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Growth Front ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Solid Phase Crystallization

AbstractSolid-phase crystallization (SPC) rates are compared in amorphous silicon films prepared by three different methods: hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and electron-beam physical vapor deposition (e-beam). Random SPC proceeds approximately 5 and 13 times slower in PECVD and e-beam films, respectively, as compared to HWCVD films. Doping accelerates random SPC in e-beam films but has little effect on the SPC rate of HWCVD films. In contrast, the crystalline growth front in solid-phase epitaxy experiments propagates at similar speed in HWCVD, PECVD, and e-beam amorphous Si films. This strongly suggests that the observed large differences in random SPC rates originate from different nucleation rates in these materials while the grain growth rates are relatively similar. The larger grain sizes observed for films that exhibit slower random SPC support this suggestion.

Molecular Hydrogen in Hot-Wire Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon

1998 ◽  
Vol 507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao. Liu ◽  
E. Iwaniczko ◽  
R.O. Pohl ◽  
R.S. Crandall
Keyword(s):  
Internal Friction ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Molecular Hydrogen ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Amorphous Solid ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous ◽  
Triple Point Temperature

ABSTRACTWe have studied the elastic properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) prepared by hot wire chemical-vapor deposition (HWCVD). With 1 at.% H, this material has been found to be the only amorphous solid which has a low-temperature internal friction more than two orders of magnitude smaller than all other amorphous solids studied to date, as reported recently. As the hydrogen concentration increases above 1 at.%, a broad relaxation peak in internal friction around 5 K is observed. Even more striking is an extremely narrow peak in internal friction accompanied by a discontinuous change in the sound velocity at 13.8 K, which coincides with the triple point temperature of molecular hydrogen. Evidences are provided to show that this anomaly is caused by bulk molecular hydrogen which undergoes a liquid-solid phase transition. This is the first observation for the existence of bulk H2 in HWCVD a-Si:H.

Stress Induced During the Solid-phase Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Deposited by LPCVD

1995 ◽  
Vol 403 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Mohammed-Brahim ◽  
K. Kis-Sion ◽  
D. Briand ◽  
M. Sarret ◽  
F. Lebihan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
In Situ Monitoring ◽  
Crystallization Time ◽  
Solid Phase Crystallization ◽  
Pressure Chemical ◽  
Hall Effect Measurements ◽  
Deposition Techniques

AbstractThe Solid Phase Crystallization (SPC) of amorphous silicon films deposited by Low Pressure Chemical Vapor phase Deposition (LPCVD) using pure silane at 550'C was studied by in-situ monitoring the film conductance. The saturation of the conductance at the end of the crystallization process is found transient. The conductance decreases slowly after the onset of the saturation. This degradation is also observed from other analyses such as ellipsometry spectra, optical transmission and Arrhenius plots of the conductivity between 250 and 570K. Hall effect measurements show that the degradation is due to a decrease of the free carrier concentration n and not to a decrease of the mobility. This indicates a constant barrier height at the grain boundaries. The decrease of n is then due to a defect creation in the grain. Hence, whatever the substrate used, an optimum crystallization time exists. It depends on the amorphous quality film which is determined by the deposition techniques and conditions and on the crystallization parameters.

Polycrystalline Silicon Films Formed by Solid-Phase Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon: the Substrate Effects on Crystallization Kinetics and Mechanism

1996 ◽  
Vol 424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.-H. Song ◽  
S.-Y. Kang ◽  
K. I. Cho ◽  
H. J. Yoo ◽  
J. H. Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Solid Phase Crystallization ◽  
Substrate Effects ◽  
Random Nucleation ◽  
Pressure Chemical ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization

AbstractThe substrate effects on the solid-phase crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si) have been extensively investigated. The a-Si films were prepared on two kinds of substrates, a thermally oxidized Si wafer (SiO2/Si) and a quartz, by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) using Si2H6 gas at 470 °C and annealed at 600 °C in an N2 ambient for crystallization. The analysis using XRD and Raman scattering shows that crystalline nuclei are faster formed on the SiO2/Si than on the quartz, and the time needed for the complete crystallization of a-Si films on the SiO2/Si is greatly reduced to 8 h from ˜15 h on the quartz. In this study, it was first observed that crystallization in the a-Si deposited on the SiO2/Si starts from the interface between the a-Si film and the thermal oxide of the substrate, called interface-induced crystallization, while random nucleation process dominates on the quartz. The very smooth surface of the SiO2/Si substrate is responsible for the observed interface-induced crystallization of a-Si films.

Light-Induced Increase in Two-Level Tunneling States in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon

1999 ◽  
Vol 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Liu ◽  
R.O. Pohl ◽  
R.S. Crandall
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Internal Friction ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

AbstractWe observe an increase of the low-temperature internal friction of hydrogenated amorphous silicon prepared by both hot-wire and plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition after extended light-soaking at room temperature. This increase, and the associated change in sound velocity, can be explained by an increase of the density of two-level tunneling states, which serves as a measure of the lattice disorder. The amount of increase in internal friction is remarkably similar in both types of films although the amount and the microstructure of hydrogen are very different. Experiments conducted on a sample prepared by hot-wire chemical-vapor deposition show that this change anneals out gradually at room temperature in about 70 days. Possible relation of the light-induced changes in the low-temperature elastic properties to the Staebler-Wronski effect is discussed.

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