Deposition profiles of microcrystalline silicon films using multi-hollow discharge plasma CVD

We have studied deposition profiles of micro crystalline silicon (μc-Si) films using a multi-hollow discharge plasma CVD method, by which contribution of SiH₃ and H to deposition varies with the distance between the substrate and discharge region. Under high pressure (6 Torr) depletion condition, crystalline films were deposited in a region near the discharges and the higher crystallinity was obtained at the closer to the discharges. Films of 0.6 in crystallinity Φ_C were deposited in a very narrow region between 4 and 5 mm from the discharges. The process window of good quality μc-Si films is very narrow. These results indicate the multi-hollow discharge plasma CVD method allows us to optimize deposition conditions easier than the conventional deposition methods.