Glancing angle deposition for tuning electronic transport properties of Si thin films

Abstract

We report on electronic transport properties of B-doped Si thin films 400 nm thick sputter-deposited by glancing angle deposition (GLAD). For each film, a fixed deposition angle α is used during the growth. A series of 9 films are prepared changing α from 0° to 80° with increments of 10°. DC electrical resistivity, charge carrier mobility and concentration are systematically measured in the temperature range from 290 K to 410 K. For deposition angles higher than 40°, a tilted columnar morphology appears and becomes more defined, especially for the most grazing angles. The highest deposition angles also lead to more resistive films with charge carrier mobility and concentration significantly changing for α>30°. Experimental results are discussed assuming the evolution of structural defects vs. deposition angle in the columnar architecture of Si GLAD films.