Micro-Crystalline Silicon Thin Films Deposited by the Reactive RF Magnetron Sputtering System

Hydrogenated micro-crystalline silicon (muc-Si:H) thin films were deposited by the RF magnetron sputtering system with argon and hydrogen mixture gases. The high-quality muc-Si:H films were successfully produced at 200degC. The dark conductivity of 5.5times10 -9 S/cm and two order of magnitude of photosensitivity were obtained with 100% hydrogen sputtering and the absorption coefficients are similar to those of single crystalline silicon. We consider that hydrogen in the sputter gases causes the chemical transport of growth species from targets to substrates. The significant reduction in crystallization temperature and the improvement of film qualities occur probably due to similar reactions to the plasma CVD process