Effect of ion energy on microcrystalline silicon material and devices: A study using tailored voltage waveforms

Bastien Bruneau; Michael Lepecq; Junkang Wang; Jean Christophe Dornstetter; Jean Luc Maurice; Erik V. Johnson

doi:10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2357259

Effect of ion energy on microcrystalline silicon material and devices: A study using tailored voltage waveforms

Bastien Bruneau
, Michael Lepecq
, Junkang Wang
, Jean Christophe Dornstetter
, Jean Luc Maurice
, Erik V. Johnson

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The use of tailored voltage waveforms to excite a plasma has been shown to be an effective technique to decouple maximum ion energy from the ion flux on the electrode. We use it here as a way to scan through the maximum ion energy in order to study this quantity's role in the growth of μc-Si:H. We find that at critical energies (30 and 70 eV), a stepwise increase in the a-Si:H/μc-Si:H transition thickness is observed, together with change in the surface morphology. These thresholds correspond to SiH_x⁺-and H₃⁺-induced displacement energies, respectively. A model is proposed to account for the impact of these ions on the morphology of μc-Si:H growth and is confirmed by comparison with epitaxial growth on a crystalline wafer.

Original language	English
Article number	6912935
Pages (from-to)	1354-1360
Number of pages	7
Journal	IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
Volume	4
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2357259
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2014

Keywords

Growth model
ion bombardment energy
microcrystalline silicon
tailored voltage waveform

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10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2357259

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title = "Effect of ion energy on microcrystalline silicon material and devices: A study using tailored voltage waveforms",

abstract = "The use of tailored voltage waveforms to excite a plasma has been shown to be an effective technique to decouple maximum ion energy from the ion flux on the electrode. We use it here as a way to scan through the maximum ion energy in order to study this quantity's role in the growth of μc-Si:H. We find that at critical energies (30 and 70 eV), a stepwise increase in the a-Si:H/μc-Si:H transition thickness is observed, together with change in the surface morphology. These thresholds correspond to SiHx+-and H3+-induced displacement energies, respectively. A model is proposed to account for the impact of these ions on the morphology of μc-Si:H growth and is confirmed by comparison with epitaxial growth on a crystalline wafer.",

keywords = "Growth model, ion bombardment energy, microcrystalline silicon, tailored voltage waveform",

author = "Bastien Bruneau and Michael Lepecq and Junkang Wang and Dornstetter, \{Jean Christophe\} and Maurice, \{Jean Luc\} and Johnson, \{Erik V.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2014 IEEE.",

year = "2014",

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doi = "10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2357259",

language = "English",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Effect of ion energy on microcrystalline silicon material and devices

T2 - A study using tailored voltage waveforms

AU - Bruneau, Bastien

AU - Lepecq, Michael

AU - Wang, Junkang

AU - Dornstetter, Jean Christophe

AU - Maurice, Jean Luc

AU - Johnson, Erik V.

PY - 2014/1/1

Y1 - 2014/1/1

N2 - The use of tailored voltage waveforms to excite a plasma has been shown to be an effective technique to decouple maximum ion energy from the ion flux on the electrode. We use it here as a way to scan through the maximum ion energy in order to study this quantity's role in the growth of μc-Si:H. We find that at critical energies (30 and 70 eV), a stepwise increase in the a-Si:H/μc-Si:H transition thickness is observed, together with change in the surface morphology. These thresholds correspond to SiHx+-and H3+-induced displacement energies, respectively. A model is proposed to account for the impact of these ions on the morphology of μc-Si:H growth and is confirmed by comparison with epitaxial growth on a crystalline wafer.

AB - The use of tailored voltage waveforms to excite a plasma has been shown to be an effective technique to decouple maximum ion energy from the ion flux on the electrode. We use it here as a way to scan through the maximum ion energy in order to study this quantity's role in the growth of μc-Si:H. We find that at critical energies (30 and 70 eV), a stepwise increase in the a-Si:H/μc-Si:H transition thickness is observed, together with change in the surface morphology. These thresholds correspond to SiHx+-and H3+-induced displacement energies, respectively. A model is proposed to account for the impact of these ions on the morphology of μc-Si:H growth and is confirmed by comparison with epitaxial growth on a crystalline wafer.

KW - Growth model

KW - ion bombardment energy

KW - microcrystalline silicon

KW - tailored voltage waveform

U2 - 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2357259

DO - 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2357259

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84908246678

SN - 2156-3381

VL - 4

SP - 1354

EP - 1360

JO - IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

JF - IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics

IS - 6

M1 - 6912935

ER -

Effect of ion energy on microcrystalline silicon material and devices: A study using tailored voltage waveforms

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Keywords

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