High deposition rates for microcrystalline silicon with low temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition processes

Intrinsic microcrystalline silicon (mu c-Si:H) was prepared with plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) from silane/hydrogen mixtures at 200 degrees C with the aim to increase the deposition rate. Using a plasma excitation frequency of 95 MHz we obtain an increase of the deposition rate by a factor of 25 from that of our standard PECVD process at 13.56 MHz. This increase is obtained by the combination of a higher plasma excitation frequency, an increased silane concentration (SC) and larger discharge powers. Material prepared under these conditions at a deposition rate of 0.46 nm s(-1) maintains crystallinity and electronic properties with dark conductivities, sigma(D) approximate to 10(-7) S cm(-1), and spin densities in the range of 10(16) cm(-3). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.