Structural studies and influence of the structure on the electrical and optical properties of microcrystalline silicon thin films produced by RF sputtering

Microcrystalline silicon thin films were produced by reactive magnetron spu ttering on glass substrates under several different conditions (RF power an d gas mixture composition). The film structure was studied by X-ray diffrac tometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscop y, allowing the determination of crystal sizes, crystallinity and mechanica l strain. These parameters were evaluated by fitting a pseudo-Voigt functio n to the X-ray data, and by the application of the strong phonon confinemen t model to the Raman spectra. The degree of crystallinity and the presence of single crystals or crystal agglomerates, which was confirmed by TEM, dep ends on the preparation conditions, and strongly affects the optical spectr a and the electrical transport properties. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. A ll rights reserved.