LASER AND NITROGEN PLASMA BEAM-INDUCED MODIFICATIONS IN AMORPHOUS-SILICON THIN-FILMS

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) thin films deposited on a (100 ) Si wafer by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) were i rradiated by KrF (lambda = 248 nm) excimer laser or treated in a plasm a jet generated by a capacity coupled RF discharge in N-2, respectivel y. Various techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ellipsometry, optical microscopy and microhardness measurements were u sed to characterize the laser and nitrogen plasma jet induced composit ion and crystallinity modifications. Oxidation/reduction effects toget her with crystallization were evidenced in the case of the laser treat ment. The formation of different compounds containing Si, C, N and O w as observed as an effect of nitrogen plasma treatment.