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Transmission Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Diffraction Analysis of Aluminum-Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon in α-Si:H/Al and Al/α-Si:H Structures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2005

Ram Kishore ,
C. Hotz ,
H.A. Naseem  and
W.D. Brown
Ram Kishore
Affiliation:
Electron Microscopy, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012, India
C. Hotz
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department/Arkansas Advanced Photovoltaic Research Center, 3217 Bell Engineering Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
H.A. Naseem
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department/Arkansas Advanced Photovoltaic Research Center, 3217 Bell Engineering Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
W.D. Brown
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department/Arkansas Advanced Photovoltaic Research Center, 3217 Bell Engineering Center, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
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Abstract

Solid phase crystallization of plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor-deposited (PECVD) amorphous silicon (α-Si:H) in α-Si:H/Al and Al/α-Si:H structures has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Radiative heating has been used to anneal films deposited on carbon-coated nickel (Ni) grids at temperatures between 200 and 400°C for TEM studies. α-Si:H films were deposited on c-Si substrates using high vacuum (HV) PECVD for the XRD studies. TEM studies show that crystallization of α-Si:H occurs at 200°C when Al film is deposited on top of the α-Si:H film. Similar behavior was observed in the XRD studies. In the case of α-Si:H deposited on top of Al films, the crystallization could not be observed at 400°C by TEM and even up to 500°C as seen by XRD.

Keywords

TEMXRDelectron diffractionPECVDamorphous siliconaluminummetal-induced crystallization
Type
MATERIALS APPLICATIONS
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , April 2005 , pp. 133 - 137
Copyright
© 2005 Microscopy Society of America

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References

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