The structural characterisation of HWCVD-deposited nanocrystalline silicon films

  • Bibhu P. Swain Department of Physics, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa. Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India.

Abstract

Nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) films were deposited by hot-wire chemical vapour deposition (HWCVD) in the presence of varying H2 concentrations and their structural and interfacial character investigated by X-ray diffraction, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and Raman spectroscopy. The crystalline fraction was around 30–50% and the nc-Si crystallite size was in the range 20–35 nm. The SAXS results were analysed by Guinier plot, scaling factor, and correlation distance. The nc-Si grains displayed a mass fractal appearance, and the interfacial inhomogeneity distance was ~2 nm.
Issue
Vol 105 No 1/2 (2009): South African Journal of Science
Section
Research Letters