Low-temperature silicon films deposition by pulsed cathodic arc process for microsystem technologies

The deposition of silicon films was investigated for the first time by the pulsed cathodic vacuum arc process. Ibis method has been employed to take the advantages of its low deposition temperature, high deposition rate, and high-energy capabilities, coupled with its relatively low operational cost. Heavily doped silicon films were deposited on silicon and glass substrates at temperatures below 100degreesC with pulsed deposition rate of 0.2nm/A(.)s. Pulsed arc currents up to 400A in 1similar to5ms pulse width with 20-300 pulses per second were studied. Compared with the direct current (D.C.) cathodic vacuum arc, numerous possibilities exist for the pulsed arc deposition to suit specific targeted film growth. The characterization of the films was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in terms of materials morphological and structural properties. The production of high quality silicon film materials at low temperature would further enable the integration of microsystems with microelectronics.