RADICAL-INDUCED AND ION-INDUCED REACTIONS ON PLASMA-DEPOSITED SILICON SURFACES

A neutral or partially ionized hydrogen or deuterium beam was irradiated onto a silicon thin film produced by silane radical beam condensation on a cooled substrate to study the interaction of silane plasma with a solid surface. The volatile chemical species created by the beam-induced surface reactions have been evaluated by mass spectrometry. It is shown that partially ionized deuterium beam irradiation induces the evolution of HD and partially deuterated silanes from the surface and results in the incorporation of deuterium atoms in the silicon surface layer to form SiHD bonds. The accelerated hydrogen ion beam irradiation produces Si2H6 molecules on the surface in addition to SiH4 and H-2 surface products. A chemically inert argon ion beam with energies higher than the plasma potential causes physical sputtering and the desorption of H-2, SiH4 and Si2H6.