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Plasma Deposition of Silicon Clusters: A Way to Produce Silicon Thin Films With Medium-Range Order ?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

P. Roca i Cabarrocas
P. Roca i Cabarrocas*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Physique des Interfaces et des Couches Minces, (UMR 7647 CNRS), Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, Cedex, France
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Abstract

The growth of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films is often explained by the arrival of SiHx radicals on the substrate and the subsequent cross-linking reactions leading to an homogeneous material which can be described by a continuous random network. Here we summarize our recent Work on a new class of silicon thin films produced under plasma conditions where silicon clusters and radicals contribute to the deposition. The main aspects are: i) silicon clusters with sizes of the order of 1-5 nm are easily formed in silane plasmas; ii) these silicon clusters can contribute to the deposition and lead to the formation of films with medium-range order (“polymorphous silicon”); iii) despite their heterogeneity, the films have improved transport properties and stability with respect to a-Si:H. The excellent transport properties are confirmed by the achievement of stable single junction p-i-n solar cells with efficiencies close to 10 %.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 507: Symposium A – Amorphous & Microcrystalline Silicon Technology 1998 , 1998 , 375
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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