The growth of crystallinity in undoped SiO:H films at low RF-power density and substrate temperature

Abstract

Microcrystalline SiO:H films have been prepared by the usual RF plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method (13.56 MHz) at low rf-power density and substrate temperature which are essential for the fabrication of a-Si solar cell. The transition from amorphous to microcrystalline structure of SiO:H film has been shown to depend sensitively on hydrogen dilution and rf-power density. In the amorphous state, concentration of CO₂ in the source gas mixture plays crucial role in determining optical gap whereas hydrogen dilution and rf-power density play important role in determining the characteristics of the microcrystalline SiO:H films.