Solid-Phase crystallization of amorphous silicon films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

The effect of deposition paratmeters on the solid-phase crystallization of amorphous silicon films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition has been investigated by x-ray diffraction. The amorphous silicon films were prepared on Si(100) wafers using SiH4 gas with and without H2 dilution at the substrate temperatures between 12$^{\circ}C$ and 38$0^{\circ}C$. The R. F. powers and the deposition pressures were also varied. After crystallizing at $600^{\circ}C$ for 24h, the films exhibited (111), (220), and (311) x-ray diffraction peaks. The (111) peak intensity increased as the substrate temperature decreased, and the H dilution suppressed the crystallization. Increasing R.F. powers within the limits of etching level and increasing deposition pressures also have enhanced the peak intensity. The peak intensity was closely related to the deposition rate, which may be an indirect indicator of structural disorder in amorphous silicon films. Our results are consistent with the fact that an increase of the structural disorder I amorphous silicon films enhances the grain size in the crystallized films.