Abstract
The optimal plasma composition for the deposition of nano-crystalline silicon (nc-Si) films is investigated in connection to electron-impact and gas-phase reaction rates for the generation of useful radicals in a low energy plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (LEPECVD) process. Mass spectrometry for the analysis of plasma composition and Langmuir probe space-resolved plasma parameters and electron energy distribution functions (eedf) are evaluated and discussed for Ar-H2 and Ar-SiH4-H2 plasma in the LEPECVD reactor. The observed ion and radical trends during nc-Si deposition can be explained by the dominance of gas-phase rates over electron-impact rates for silane reactions, leading to depletion of SiH3 and SiH2 towards SiH and Si that become precursors of the nc-Si layers.
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