Publication

Plasma Modelling and Diagnostics for the Prediction of Structural Changes in Silicon Thin Film Deposition Plasma Modelling and Diagnostics for the Prediction of Structural Changes in Silicon Thin Film Deposition

Christophe Ballif, Grégory Bugnon, Andrea Feltrin
2008
Conference Papers

Abstract

In the present work, we apply a 2D self consistent model of SiH4/H2 discharges in order to investigate the transition from microcrystalline to amorphous silicon growth. The model is used to examine the relative importance of ions and atomic hydrogen in the film growth process. This examination also involves monitoring the changes that take place in the electrical properties of the plasma, the gas phase as well as the surface chemistry near the transition between the two growth regimes. Based on these results, the discussion is extended to the mechanism of a-Si:H to μc- Si:H growth transition and the use of plasma diagnostics that can be used to monitor this transition. Keywords: Micro Crystalline Si, deposition, PECVD, thin film

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/94e2a660-f4cd-4f7b-939a-7c2e908a039c

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Christophe Ballif, Grégory Bugnon, Andrea Feltrin
2008
Conference Papers

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/94e2a660-f4cd-4f7b-939a-7c2e908a039c

About this result

Related concepts (26)

Amorphous silicon

Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is the non-crystalline form of silicon used for solar cells and thin-film transistors in LCDs. Used as semiconductor material for a-Si solar cells, or thin-film silicon solar cells, it is deposited in thin films onto a variety of flexible substrates, such as glass, metal and plastic. Amorphous silicon cells generally feature low efficiency.

Crystalline silicon

Crystalline silicon or (c-Si) Is the crystalline forms of silicon, either polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si, consisting of small crystals), or monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si, a continuous crystal). Crystalline silicon is the dominant semiconducting material used in photovoltaic technology for the production of solar cells. These cells are assembled into solar panels as part of a photovoltaic system to generate solar power from sunlight. In electronics, crystalline silicon is typically the monocrystalline form of silicon, and is used for producing microchips.

Thin-film solar cell

Thin-film solar cells are made by depositing one or more thin layers (thin films or TFs) of photovoltaic material onto a substrate, such as glass, plastic or metal. Thin-film solar cells are typically a few nanometers (nm) to a few microns (μm) thick–much thinner than the wafers used in conventional crystalline silicon (c-Si) based solar cells, which can be up to 200 μm thick. Thin-film solar cells are commercially used in several technologies, including cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), and amorphous thin-film silicon (a-Si, TF-Si).

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