Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of Ultra-Thin, Pinhole-Free Amorphous Silicon Films

A method to deposit and characterize ultra-thin (<100 Aring) amorphous silicon on silicon dioxide substrates is described. Two Si precursors, silane and disilane were compared for film continuity, measured in terms of pinhole density. Disilane was found to result in pinhole free films as thin as 45 Aring. The differences in sub-monolayer or island-stage film morphology were used to describe the effects of precursor chemistry on film continuity.