Low-temperature deposition of <i>µ</i>c-Si : H thin films by a low-frequency inductively coupled plasma for photovoltaic applications

Abstract

Low-temperature depositions of Si films from hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si : H) to highly crystallized hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si : H) were realized by the low-frequency inductively coupled plasma (LF-ICP) technique, with low hydrogen dilution (50%) and without any intentional substrate heating. µc-Si : H films with a thin incubation layer (<100 nm), a small grain size (<14 nm), a weak [1 1 1] or [2 2 0] preferred orientation, and a low hydrogen content (4–8%) were obtained (at deposition rates ∼0.4–0.7 nm s−1). The increased crystallinity due to the increasing rf power is accompanied by the improved structural order, lowered impurity contamination and decreased hydrogen content. The compactness of the µc-Si : H film is positively related to crystallinity and independent of the high microstructure factor (>0.8). Low-temperature growth of µc-Si : H is attributed to high atomic H flux and suppression of high-energy ion bombardment due to the high density of low-temperature electrons in the plasma. A µc-Si : H solar cell with a less dense intrinsic layer (on a SnO2 : F glass substrate) exhibits a high Voc (584 mV), showing great potential for photovoltaic applications.