Surface Reactions and Growth Kinetics of Plasma-deposited Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon Thin Films

Abstract

The growth kinetics of amorphous silicon (a-Si) and microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) thin films fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is discussed for developing low-cost and high-efficiency solar cells. Surface reactions are reviewed associated with the a-Si growth and the nucleation of μc-Si. With respect to the film growth of μc-Si after the nucleation, roughness evolutions were evaluated using an atomic force microscope, and scaling analyses were carried out on fractal structures of growing surfaces, because scaling exponents give a great insight into the growth kinetics. On the basis of results of scaling analyses in conjunction with Monte Carlo simulations, the growth kinetics of microcrystalline silicon thin films, actually used for the high-efficiency solar cells, is discussed.