Properties of Hydro-Fluorinated Amorphous Silicon-Carbide Produced by Intermediate Species SiF₂

Abstract

A new type of hydro-fluorinated amorphous silicon-carbide (a-SiC:F:H) film was produced by the glow-discharge decomposition of intermediate-species SiF 2 , H 2 and CF 4 gas mixture or SiF 2 , H 2 and CH 4 gas mixture. Boron and phosphorus were added to this a-SiC:F:H by mixing B 2 H 6 and PH 3 with the gas mixtures. The optical, structural and electrical properties of the a-SiC:F:H films were studied experimentally, and it was found that the optical band gap of a-SiC:F:H can be increased up to 2.2 eV by increasing the carbon content without apparent degradation of film properties such as the photo-conductivity or photo-sensitivity, and also that the conductivity of impurity-doped a-SiC:F:H can be increased above that of the similar hydrogenated amorphous silicon-carbide (a-SiC:H) produced from a CH 4 and SiH 4 gas mixture.