Effect of Substrate Temperature on the Deposition Characteristics of Hydrogenated Nanocrystalline Silicon Thin Film in Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Process

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) exhibits superior optical and electrical properties compared to hydrogenated amorphous silicon, making it highly attractive for electronic and optoelectronic devices.It is typically deposited using SiH 4 gas via the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process.While PECVD generally operates at low temperatures, elevated temperatures are often employed to improve deposition rates or enhance film properties.To optimize the process and achieve the desired film characteristics, it is crucial to understand the deposition behavior and crystallographic properties of the film as a function of substrate temperature in the PECVD process.In this study, we investigated the deposition of nc-Si:H thin films at various substrate temperatures (300 -800 ∘ C) in the inductively coupled plasma PECVD process.We examined the effect of substrate temperature on the deposition rate, surface morphology, and crystallographic properties of the films.The results showed that as the temperature increased, the deposition rate also increased, and the films became denser.The crystallographic properties also changed, with a stronger preference for the (220) orientation.The results suggest that these changes in deposition characteristics are related to the thermal decomposition of SiH 4 , hydrogen effusion, and plasma-surface interactions.