Influence of substrate bias voltage on the microstructure of nc-SiOx:H film*

Amorphous silicon oxide containing nanocrystalline silicon grain (nc-SiOx:H) films are prepared by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique at different negative substrate bias voltages. The influence of the bias voltage applied to the substrate on the microstructure is investigated. The analysis of x-ray diffraction spectra evidences the in situ growth of nanocrystalline Si. The grain size can be well controlled by varying the substrate bias voltage, and the largest size is obtained at 60 V. Fourier transform infrared spectra studies on the microstructure evolutions of the nc-SiOx:H films suggest that the absorption peak intensities, which are related to the defect densities, can be well controlled. It can be attributed to the fact that the negative bias voltage provides a useful way to change the energies of the particles in the deposition process, which can provide sufficient driving force for the diffusion and movement for the species on the growing surface and effectively passivate the dangling bonds. Also the larger grain size and lower band gap, which will result in better photosensitivity, can also be obtained with a moderate substrate bias voltage of 60 V.