Structure Change of Microcrystalline Silicon Films in Deposition Process

Structure change with thickness of films of microcrystalline silicon prepared by reactive sputtering and glow discharge techniques has been investigated with transmission electron microscopes and a Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer. An amorphous state changes into a microcrystalline one with increase of the thickness from 10 to 100 nm. Sufficiently thick films (>0.4∼0.5 µm) deposited by the reactive sputtering show a columnar structure with an orientation of microcrystals {110} parallel to the substrate. As the orientation of the microcrystals develops with thickness, IR absorption bands due to Si–H stretching become sharper.