Enhancing the crystallization fraction performance of nano-crystalline silicon thin films with argon and hydrogen annealing

Abstract

A report is presented on the crystallization fraction performance of nano-crystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin films prepared with layer-by-layer chemical vapor deposition technique and Ar and H 2 annealing atmosphere with gas flow ratios of argon to total R(Ar) = [Ar]/([Ar] + [H 2]) ranging from 0 to 0.75. The mobility achieved in the 8-layer films was 9.95 cm 2/V-s and 11.7 cm 2/V-s for R(Ar) = 0.67 and R(Ar) = 0.75, respectively. These mobility values were comparable to the ones obtained for 16- and 20-layer films prepared with H 2 annealing only ( R = 0).