Nanocrystalline silicon films grown by low energy plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for optoelectronic applications

This work deals with the properties of nanocrystalline silicon films, which have been grown using a Low Energy Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (LEPECVD) process. This process permits to increase the intensity of the plasma discharge in the growth region and thus to achieve high growth rates while avoiding ion-induced surface damage of the deposited films. The structural, chemical, electrical and optical properties of the LEPECVD grown films were studied in detail as a function of the deposition parameters. As a result of this work we were able to show that the grown films present higher crystallinity and were obtained at higher deposition rate than with standard PECVD techniques. The electrical and structural properties indicate that the films are promising for application as an intrinsic layer in pin solar cell production. Further optimisation work is needed for optoelectronic applications. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.