Effects of nanoparticle incorporation on properties of microcrystalline films deposited using multi-hollow discharge plasma CVD

Abstract We investigated the effects of incorporation of crystalline nanoparticles on properties of microcrystalline Si films deposited using multi-hollow discharge plasma CVD. Both photo and dark conductivity of films with nanoparticles are lower than the films without nanoparticles. Films with nanoparticles have higher photosensitivity than those of films without nanoparticles in a low crystallinity region. Microcrystalline films of high crystallinity and high photosensitivity are obtained only in a range of small volume fraction of nanoparticles under low dilution ratio, R = ([SiH 4 ] + [H 2 ])/[SiH 4 ]. Incorporation of small amount of nanoparticles into films strongly affects photo and dark conductivity of films.