A study of the effects of annealing and outgassing on hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Annealing and outgassing of thin films of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) are shown to produce major structural changes in the material. Outgassing can occur in three stages with thresholds at 350°C, 450°C and 575°C corresponding to conversion of SiH 3 groups to SiH 2 and SiH; conversion of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Thin solid films 1997-11, Vol.310 (1), p.156-160
Main Authors: Jennings, P.J., Cornish, J.C.L., Clare, B.W., Hefter, G.T., Santjojo, D.J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annealing
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Exact sciences and technology
Hydrogenated amorphous silicon
Outgassing
Physical properties of thin films, nonelectronic
Physics
Surfaces and interfaces
thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties)
Thermal stability
thermal effects
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Summary:Annealing and outgassing of thin films of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) are shown to produce major structural changes in the material. Outgassing can occur in three stages with thresholds at 350°C, 450°C and 575°C corresponding to conversion of SiH 3 groups to SiH 2 and SiH; conversion of SiH 2 groups to Si and SiH; and conversion of SiH to Si respectively. Heating to 575°C also appears to remove most of the hydrogen from vacancies and defects in the material. Such heat treatments could be useful for improving the stability of thin film a-Si:H devices.
ISSN:0040-6090
1879-2731
DOI:10.1016/S0040-6090(97)00396-9