High-Speed Deposition of Microcrystalline Silicon by a Surface Wave Excited H2/SIH4 Plasma

Application of surface-wave excited plasma (SWP) source to the muc-Si film deposition is demonstrated. A new gas feed system is applied to a surface wave excited plasma source, where SiH
₄
and H
₂
are introduced into the vessel through a dielectric window. Influence of the substrate position on the film qualities such as crystalline volume fraction and deposition rate are investigated. Influence of dielectric materials (quartz and alumina) on the defect density of the muc-Si film is investigated, and superiority of the alumina window is demonstrated. Finally, muc-Si film deposition at a deposition rate of 6 nm/s is achieved with a defect density of ~1times10
¹⁷
cm
^-3