N2 decomposition by hot wire and N2 post-deposition treatment on hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon thin films

Abstract Post-deposition treatment of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H) was carried out using a hot wire in atmospheres of N 2 , N 2 /H 2 or H 2 and the states of the bonds in the µc-Si:H films were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. For the µc-Si:H film treated in N 2 at the filament temperature ( T f ) of 1600 °C, a weak N1s peak was observed. It increased slightly with increasing T f from 1600 to 1900 °C and increased dramatically with increasing T f from 1900 to 2000 °C. The N1s peak of the µc-Si:H film treated in N 2 /H 2 at T f  = 2000  °C was one order of magnitude lower than that in N 2 at T f  = 2000 °C . These findings indicate that N 2 molecules decompose on the heated filament and that the addition of H 2 prevents N 2 decomposition.