Atomic force microscopy of ultra thin amorphous silicon films deposited on various substrate surfaces

Author

Matsuse, Mitsutaka ; Kawasaki, Masashi ; Koinuma, Hideomi

Author_Institution

Res. Lab. of Eng. Mater., Tokyo Inst. of Technol., Japan

Volume

1

fYear

1994

fDate

5-9 Dec 1994

Firstpage

425

Abstract

The surface morphology and interface structure of ultra-thin amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films deposited on glass, Si, SnO₂ and graphite substrates were investigated by in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ex-situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). The growth mode varied between two dimensional homogeneous coverage and three dimensional island formation depending on the substrate material, deposition temperature and reactive plasma treatment of the substrate. The phenomena are interpreted by taking into account the surface diffusion of adsorbed precursors and the wettability of a-Si:H with the substrate surface. Chemical modification of substrate surface is shown to exhibit a remarkable effect on the growth mode of a-Si:H

Keywords

X-ray photoelectron spectra; amorphous semiconductors; atomic force microscopy; chemical vapour deposition; elemental semiconductors; glass; graphite; hydrogen; microscopy; plasma CVD coatings; plasma applications; semiconductor growth; semiconductor thin films; silicon; solar cells; substrates; surface diffusion; tin compounds; wetting; C; Si; Si substrate; Si:H; SnO₂; SnO₂ substrate; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; a-Si:H thin films; adsorbed precursors; atomic force microscopy; chemical modification; deposition temperature; glass substrate; graphite substrate; growth mode; interface structure; reactive plasma treatment; substrate surfaces; surface diffusion; surface morphology; three dimensional island formation; two dimensional homogeneous coverage; ultra thin amorphous silicon films; wettability; Amorphous silicon; Atomic force microscopy; Atomic layer deposition; Glass; Photoelectron microscopy; Plasma temperature; Semiconductor films; Spectroscopy; Surface morphology; Surface treatment;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on

Conference_Location

Waikoloa, HI

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1460-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/WCPEC.1994.519989

Filename

519989