GROWTH-MECHANISM OF MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON PREPARED BY ALTERNATING DEPOSITION OF AMORPHOUS-SILICON AND HYDROGEN RADICAL ANNEALING

The growth mechanism of microcrystalline silicon (muc-Si) prepared by hydrogen radical annealing has been investigated. Alternating deposition of amorphous silicon (a-Si) (thickness of about 4 nm) and sufficient hydrogen radical annealing, results in muc-Si as large as 50 nm. The size of muc-Si can be controlled to less than 10 nm by inserting a-Si layers between crystallized layers to block the diffusion of hydrogen radicals. These results imply that the growth of muc-Si by this method is caused by hydrogen radicals diffused through a-Si, and that muc-Si grows epitaxially from muc-Si formed in the previous cycle.