Effect of Dilute Gas on Microcrystalline Si Films Deposited by ECR-PECVD

The microcrystalline silicon films were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition(ECR-PECVD) using SiH4/Ar and SiH4/H2gaseous mixture.The effects of dilute gas on deposition rate,crystallinity,grain size and the configuration of H existing in microcrystalline silicon films were investigated.The results show that the deposition rate of the film using Ar as discharge gas is 1.5-2 times higher than that using H2,but the film crystallinity is lower.At the same time,the concentration of hydrogen in the films deposited using SiH4/Ar is less than that of using SiH4/H2,but the preferred orientations and the grain sizes of the films are analogous.