Thermal stability and crystallization products of amorphous Si:P alloy thin films made by coevaporation of Si and P

Abstract

Thermal stability and crystallization of amorphous Si:P alloy thin films consisting of 20–44 at. % P have been studied in this work. The results show that the alloys have crystallization temperatures ranging from 850 to 1150 °C, which are all higher than that of pure amorphous Si, and that the variation of resistivity of the alloys during the 120 h aging at 300 °C is small (0.6%). These results indicate that the alloys have a high thermal stability, which is in agreement with the thermodynamic prediction we have made. It has also been observed that the crystallization products for these alloys are different. A new silicon phosphide phase has been observed in the 30 at. % alloy sample and suggested to be possibly a hexagonal Si7P3 phase which has lattice parameters a=5.32 Å and c=13.3 Å. The alloy films were deposited onto quartz substrates and Si wafers by coevaporation of Si and P. X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to investigate the crystallization temperature and product of the amorphous alloys.