Ion assisted growth and characterization of polycrystalline silicon and silicon-germanium films

Polysilicon films have been deposited at a low temperature by single and dual ion beam sputtering. The structural and electrical properties of as-deposited and annealed films have been characterized by x-ray diffraction, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Hall mobility measurements. The films are microcrystalline with average grain size ranging from 200 to 400 Angstrom. The films exposed to a low-energy secondary ion beam during sputtering from a silicon target have exhibited smoother surface topography and different electrical behavior than the films deposited without any secondary ion bombardment. Some preliminary studies on ion beam sputtered SiGe films using a compound target are also presented. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.