Progress in high deposition rate amorphous and polycrystalline silicon materials using the pulsed plasma and hot wire CVD deposition techniques

The pulsed plasma deposition can increase the deposition rate of amorphous silicon (a-Si) without an increase in the particulate count in the plasma w hich is an important factor determining the yield of commercial products su ch as active matrix displays. In this paper, we report the deposition of a- Si at rates of up to 15 Angstrom/sec, using a modulation frequency in the r ange of 1-100 kHz and the impact it has on solar cell conversion efficiency . The hot wire CVD deposition technique has attracted a considerable amount of interest because of the ability to produce a-Si at a high deposition ra te and with low hydrogen concentration which could minimize the instability phenomena. Further, under suitable conditions, low temperature polycrystal line silicon can be produced. We present data of high deposition rates for a-Si (> 15 A/s) and polycrystalline Si and discuss their usefulness to phot ovoltaic applications. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.