Retraction: “Surface Chemistry of Preferentially (111)- and (220)-Crystal-Oriented Microcrystalline Silicon Films by Radio-Frequency Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition”

Abstract

The surface chemistry of chlorinated hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H:Cl) films with preferred (111) and (220) crystal orientations was investigated by the radio-frequency (rf) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) of a dichlorosilane (SiH2Cl2) and H2 mixture. The growing surface of the preferentially (220)-crystal-oriented µc-Si:H:Cl films included many microroughness features, voids, and dangling bonds, and was chemically active to hydrogen and argon plasma exposures. On the other hand, the growing surface with the preferential (111) crystal orientation was chemically stable relatively. These findings suggest that the sticking process of deposition precursors and/or the reconstruction of Si clusters within the subsurface region including microroughness features and dangling bonds determines the growth of the preferential (220) crystal orientation. The determining factor for the preferential crystal orientation is discussed in terms of the growth of µc-Si:H:Cl films.