High-rate deposition of amorphous hydrogenated silicon from a SiH4 plasma

Abstract

An extremely high deposition rate of amorphous hydrogenated silicon has been achieved by employing a new rf discharge technique. The deposition rate has been increased to more than 50 Å/s at a substrate temperature of 200 °C without accompanying any appreciable deterioration in the electronic and structural properties as compared to those of specimens prepared at a conventional deposition rate (∼1 Å/s). Thermal stability of the high-rate samples is improved with respect to that of low-rate specimens.