Effects of plasma and/or 193 nm excimer laser irradiation on the surface in chemical vapor deposition of boron films from B2H6+He

Micromorphological boron columns were found to grow toward 193 nm light in a low-pressure B2H6+He plasma, as a direct evidence of a photoinduced growth. Its growth mechanism was discussed; the micromorphological growth rate which resulted from photoinduced growth reactions reflects a grading distribution of laser intensity on the initial hemispherical nucleus surface. Activation energies for the growth were positive in the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition while they were negative in the pyrolysis; this was discussed based on a previously proposed growth model.