Saturated defect densities of hydrogenated amorphous silicon grown by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition at rates up to 150 Å/s

Hydrogenated amorphous-silicon (a-Si:H) is grown by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) at deposition rates (Rd) exceeding 140 Å/s (∼0.8 μm/min). These high rates are achieved by using multiple filaments and deposition conditions different than those used to produce our standard 20 Å/s material. With proper deposition parameter optimization, an AM1.5 photo-to-dark-conductivity ratio of 105 is maintained at an Rd up to 130 Å/s, beyond which it decreases. In addition, the first saturated defect densities of high Rd a-Si:H films are presented. These saturated defected densities are similar to those of the best HWCVD films deposited at 5–8 Å/s, and are invariant with Rd up to 130 Å/s.