Amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon growth on carbon nanotube substrates

In this study, smooth and conformal hydrogenated silicon thin films are examined and analyzed on various multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) substrates. The films are deposited using radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with He dilution and parameters that are heavily in the gamma regime. It is proposed that high-energy plasmas with limited penetration depth can induce crystallization to occur on MWCNT substrates of varying active surface areas. The samples presented exhibit properties that are promising for energy applications, including photovoltaics and lithium-ion batteries and have been studied using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, four-point probe measurements, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.