Argon-plasma-induced growth of crystalline grains in microcrystalline silicon: Formation mechanism of grains

초록

A thick (similar to 300 nm) microcrystalline silicon (mu c-Si:H) film with a low crystalline volume fraction (similar to 24%) and a columnar grain size of about 100 rim was exposed to an argon plasma at a substrate temperature of 220 degrees C after deposition. It is shown that argon plasma treatment significantly enhances film-crystallinity throughout the mu c-Si:H layer: over a factor of 2 in crystalline fraction and by a factor of 3 in columnar grain size after a 90-min argon treatment. Based on these experimental results, it is proposed that crystallization of pc-Si:H is likely mediated by the energy transferred from energetic argon atoms. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

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