Deposition of Cluster-Free B-doped Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Films Using SiH 4 +B 10 H 14 Multi-Hollow Discharge Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 2012-01, Vol.51 (1S), p.1
• Main Authors: Koga, Kazunori, Nakahara, Kenta, Kim, Yeon-Won, Matsunaga, Takeaki, Yamashita, Daisuke, Matsuzaki, Hidefumi, Uchida, Giichiro, Kamataki, Kunihiro, Itagaki, Naho, Shiratani, Masaharu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0021-4922; 1347-4065
• DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.51.01AD03

We have deposited cluster-free B-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films using a SiH 4 +B 10 H 14 multi-hollow discharge plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. We have studied the dependence of the deposition rate, band gap, and conductivity of the films on the gas flow rate ratio R =[B 10 H 14 ]/[SiH 4 ]. The deposition rate for SiH 4 +B 10 H 14 plasmas is 2–3 times as high as that for pure SiH 4 plasmas. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) measurements indicate that SiH 3 radical generation rate remains nearly constant regardless of R . These results suggest that B x H y radicals enhance the surface reaction probability and/or sticking probability of SiH 3 , being the predominant deposition precursor. Cluster-free B-doped a-Si:H films have a wide band-gap energy of 1.8–2.0 eV and a conductivity as high as 5.0×10 -6 S/cm. These results demonstrate that cluster-free B-doped a-Si:H films deposited using SiH 4 +B 10 H 14 multi-hollow discharge plasma CVD are promising as a p-layer of pin a-Si:H solar cells.