Formation of silicon nanocrystallites by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition and ion beam assisted electron beam deposition

Abstract

Nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) thin films were directly deposited by electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) and ion beam assisted electron beam deposition (IBAED) method. In the sample deposited by ECR-CVD, the room temperature photoluminescence originated from the nc-Si and the silicon-hydrogen bond were appeared. It was confirmed that the size of the nc-Si could be controlled up to about 3 nm with the low substrate temperature during the deposition process and then the hydrogen atoms play a very important role in the formation of the nc-Si. The IBAED method was also found to an useful technique for nc-Si formation by the control of ion beam power.