Saturated defect densities of hydrogenated amorphous silicon grown by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition at rates up to 150 angstrom/s

Hydrogenated amorphous-silicon (alpha -Si:H) is grown by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) at deposition rates (R-d) exceeding 140 Angstrom / s (similar to0.8 mum/min). These high rates ore achieved by using multiple filaments and deposition conditions different than those used to produce ou r standard 20 Angstrom /s material, with proper deposition parameter optimi zation, an AM1.5 photo-to-dark-conductivity ratio of 10(5) is maintained at an R-d up to 130 Angstrom /s, beyond which it decreases. In addition, the first saturated defect densities of high R-d alpha -Si:H films are presente d. These saturated defected densities are similar to those of the best HWCV D films deposited at 5-8 Angstrom /s, and are invariant with R-d up to 130 Angstrom /s. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.