Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b6zl4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-30T00:00:25.447Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Growth of Germanium Carbon Alloy by Pecvd Using Silane as a Growth Promoter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 February 2011

Paul R. Moffitt ,
H. A. Naseem ,
S. S. Ang  and
W. D. Brown
Paul R. Moffitt
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701
H. A. Naseem
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701
S. S. Ang
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701
W. D. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701
Get access

Abstract

A possible alternative to a-SiGe for use in multijunction solar cells is a-GeC alloy. Only preliminary work has been done so far on this alloy, Mostly for use as an IR anti-reflection coating, with little study done on its optoelectronic properties. GeC films were grown by the PECVD Method from a novel gas mixture using GeF4 as the germanium source gas. Methane was used as the carbon source, with H2 being added for additional hydrogenation of the film. It was found that adding silane to the mixture would increase the growth rate from less than 1 Å/s up to 30 Å/s. The films contained no detectable silicon, even at mixture ratios of five SiH4 to one GeF4. Varying the amount of methane in the gas mixture allowed the film optical bandgap to be adjusted from 1.1 eV to 1.8 eV. The effect of other parameters such as RF power level and H2 flow rate on bandgap and growth rate were also explored. Optoelectronic properties in the 1.2 to 1.4 eV bandgap range will also be reported.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 336: Symposium A – Amorphous Silicon Technology - 1994 , 1994 , 601
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

[1] Luft, W. in Proceedings of the 20th Photovoltaic Specialist' Conference (IEEE, 1, New York, 1989) pp. 218–223.Google Scholar
[2] Anderson, D. A. and Spear, W. E., Philos. Mag. 35, 1 (1977).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[3] Lettington, A. H., Wort, C. J. H. and Monachan, B. C. in Window and Dome Technologies and Materials, edited by Kloceck, P. (SPIE, 1112, Bellingham WA, 1989) pp. 156–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[4] Sah, R. E., Wild, Ch. and Koidl, P. in Hard Materials in Optics, edited by Ribbing, C. G. (SPIE, 1275, Bellingham WA, 1990) pp. 59–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[5] Machowski, J. M., Cimma, B. and Pignard, R. in Window and Dome Technologies and Materials III, (SPIE, 1760, Bellingham WA, 1992) pp. 201–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[6] Martin, P. M., Johnston, J. W. and Bennet, W. D. in Optical Thin Films III, New Developments, edited by Seddon, R. I. (SPIE, 1323, Bellingham WA, 1990) pp. 291–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[7] Tyczkowski, J., Odrobina, Ewa, Gazick, M. and Olcaytua, F., Jörn, of Non-cryst. Solids, 137 & 138, 875 (1991).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[8] Kumru, Mustafa, Thin Solid Films, 198, 75 (1991).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[9] ECHIP Version 6.0 for Windows, ECHIP Inc. Hockessin, DE, (1993).Google Scholar
[10] Catherine, Y. and Turban, G., Thin Solid Films, 70, 101 (1980).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[11] Paul, William, Jones, Scott J., Turner, Warren A. and Wickboldt, Paul, Journ. of Non-cryst. Solids, 141, 271 (1992).CrossRefGoogle Scholar