A review of plasma-induced defects: detection, kinetics and advanced management

Abstract Plasma-induced defects are often recognized in state-of-the-art semiconductors, high-efficiency solar cells and high-sensitivity image sensors. These defects are in the form of a dangling bond, bond deformation, or impurity/residual, which impacts on the device performance and reliability. The defects are introduced via plasma-material interactions during manufacturing processes such as deposition, etching and implantation. So, the management of defects throughout the manufacturing is important for high-performance device fabrication. In this review, we overview the generation and recovery of plasma-induced defects in order to develop the defect-managed advanced plasma processing for further improving the device performances. The defect generation and recovery are described, based on the recent results of in-situ and real-time detection of plasma-induced defects. Two examples are presented: the growth of hydrogenated amorphous silicon and the surface passivation of crystalline silicon for high-efficiency solar cell applications.