Enhanced Nucleation of Microcrystalline Silicon Thin Films Deposited by Inductively Coupled Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition with Low-Frequency Pulse Substrate Bias

Microcrystalline silicon (mu c-Si) films were deposited by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition with a low-frequency and low-duty pulse substrate bias (PSB). The crystallinity of the films was significantly improved by the PSB. In the case of the low-frequency and low-duty PSB, the duty ratio affected the crystallinity more than the negative peak voltage. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy measurements revealed that the nucleation density at the mu c-Si/glass interface was increased by the PSB. This technique will be useful in fabricating high-performance bottom-gate mu c-Si thin-film transistors for large-area electronics. (C) 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics