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Deposition of Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon

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Book cover Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells: Modeling, Materials and Device Technology

Part of the book series: Electronic Materials: Science & Technology ((EMST,volume 5))

Abstract

Amorphous and microcrystalline silicon thin films are still commonly produced using the method that first resulted in hydrogen incorporation in the material (Sterling and Swann, 1965). The deposition method is a glow discharge technique, also known as Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD). A silicon containing gas, usually silane (SiH4), is admitted to a vacuum reactor chamber. A gas discharge is then initiated and maintained by an electric field between two parallel plates, using either a dc voltage or a voltage in the radio frequency domain (13.65 – 200 MHz). The pressure is typically 0.1 – 1 mbar, depending on the geometry of the vacuum chamber. The hydrogen bonded to silicon was later recognized as being essential for tighing up the unpaired valence electrons that would otherwise lead to electronic defect states.

…; this clearly demonstrates that the excitation frequency is an important parameter in plasma processing. —H. Curtins, N. Wyrsch, A. V. Shah, 2nd February 1987

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Utrecht University, Debye Institute, Netherlands

    Ruud E. I. Schropp

  2. Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

    Miro Zeman

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Schropp, R.E.I., Zeman, M. (1998). Deposition of Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon. In: Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells: Modeling, Materials and Device Technology. Electronic Materials: Science & Technology, vol 5. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5631-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5631-2_2

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