High rate growth of microcrystalline silicon films assisted by high density plasma

We developed a novel technique for high-rate growth of high-quality microcrystalline silicon films by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, using a novel cathode which leads to generate stable uniform high-density sheet plasma near cathode. A high growth rate reaching 9.3 nm/s was obtained demonstrating its efficient gas dissociation. An increase in defect density with the growth rate was observed for samples prepared with various power, pressure, and substrate temperature, suggesting that controlling gas temperature and silane depletion could be essential for reduction of defect density under high growth rate conditions. It was found that an increase in silane flow rate effectively reduces the defect density even at a high growth rate. As a result, microcrystalline silicon films with a low defect density of 1.2/spl times/10/sup 16/ cm/sup -3/ were obtained at a high rate of 7.7 nm/s, showing the effectiveness of the new cathode.