DENSIFICATION OF AMORPHOUS-SILICON PREPARED BY HYDROGEN-ION-BEAM-ASSISTED EVAPORATION

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were deposited by ion-beam-assist ed evaporation onto substrates maintained at 120 degrees C. The influe nce of the substrate bias was studied. By combined infrared spectromet ry and thermal desorption spectrometry experiments, it is inferred tha t the bombardment of the growing a-Si:H film by energetic hydrogen ion s produces a densification of the material without modification of the Si:H bonding. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.