Silicon homoepitaxy using tantalum-filament hot-wire chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

We have studied silicon films grown epitaxially on silicon wafers using hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) with a tantalum filament. Silicon films were grown on (100)-oriented hydrogen terminated silicon wafers at temperatures from 175°C to 480°C, using a Ta filament 5 cm from the substrate to decompose pure SiH₄ gas. The progression of epitaxy was monitored using real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE). Analysis using RTSE, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy shows that at a characteristic thickness, h_epi all of the films break down into a-Si:H cones. Below 380°C, both hepi and the thickness of the transition to pure a-Si:H increase with increasing temperature. Above 380°C, hepi was not observed to increase further but TEM images show fewer defects in the epitaxial regions. Secondary ion-mass spectrometry shows that the oxygen concentration remains nearly constant during growth (<10¹⁸ cm⁻³). The hydrogen concentration is found to increase substantially with film thickness from 5•10¹⁸ to 5•10¹⁹ cm⁻³, likely due to the incorporation of hydrogen into the a-Si:H cones that grow after the breakdown of epitaxy.