High rate deposition of microcrystalline silicon films by high-pressure radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (mu c-Si:H) thin films were prepared by high-pressure radio-frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rf-PECVD) with a screened plasma. The deposition rate and crystallinity varying with the deposition pressure, rf power, hydrogen dilution ratio and electrodes distance were systematically studied. By optimizing the deposition parameters the device quality mu c-Si:H films have been achieved with a high deposition rate of 7.8 angstrom/s at a high pressure. The V-oc of 560 mV and the FF of 0.70 have been achieved for a single-junction mu c-Si:H p-i-n solar cell at a deposition rate of 7.8 angstrom/s.

Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) incorporated into silicon matrix grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)

Hybrid composites composed of zinc phthalocyanine embedded in silicon matrixes have attracted attention because of the potential for solar energy conversion. We produce hybrid composites by thermal evaporation for the plithalocyanine and PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) for the silicon matrix. Deposition of ZnPc/a-Si(amorphous silicon) composites was achieved in a sequential manner. The compound films were characterized by optical transmittance spectra and photoconductivity measurement. The optical transmittance measurements were carried out in the visible region (500 - 800 nm). Compared to pure silicon film, the photosensitivity of compound functional films was enhanced by one order of magnitude. This demonstrates the Si sensitized by adding ZnPc.

Novel metallo-porphyrin based colourimetric amine sensors and their processing via plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition at atmospheric pressure : synthesis, characterisation and mechanistic studies

Volatile amines are prominent indicators of food freshness, as they are produced during many microbiological food degradation processes. Monitoring and indicating the volatile amine concentration within the food package by intelligent packaging solutions might therefore be a simple yet powerful way to control food safety throughout the distribution chain.rnrnIn this context, this work aims to the formation of colourimetric amine sensing surfaces on different substrates, especially transparent PET packaging foil. The colour change of the deposited layers should ideally be discernible by the human eye to facilitate the determination by the end-user. rnrnDifferent tailored zinc(II) and chromium(III) metalloporphyrins have been used as chromophores for the colourimetric detection of volatile amines. A new concept to increase the porphyrins absorbance change upon exposure to amines is introduced. Moreover, the novel porphyrins’ processability during the deposition process is increased by their enhanced solubility in non-polar solvents.rnrnThe porphyrin chromophores have successfully been incorporated into polysiloxane matrices on different substrates via a dielectric barrier discharge enhanced chemical vapour deposition. This process allows the use of nitrogen as a cheap and abundant plasma gas, produces minor amounts of waste and by-products and can be easily introduced into (existing) roll-to-roll production lines. The formed hybrid sensing layers tightly incorporate the porphyrins and moreover form a porous structure to facilitate the amines diffusion to and interaction with the chromophores.rnrnThe work is completed with the thorough analysis of the porphyrins’ amine sensing performance in solution as well as in the hybrid coatings . To reveal the underlying interaction mechanisms, the experimental results are supported by DFT calculations. The deposited layers could be used for the detection of NEt3 concentrations below 10 ppm in the gas phase. Moreover, the coated foils have been tested in preliminary food storage experiments. rnrnThe mechanistic investigations on the interaction of amines with chromium(III) porphyrins revealed a novel pathway to the formation of chromium(IV) oxido porphyrins. This has been used for electrochemical epoxidation reactions with dioxygen as the formal terminal oxidant.rn

Synthesis of free standing carbon nanosheet using electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Carbon nanosheets (CNSs) have been synthesized by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using a mixture of acetylene and argon gases on copper foil as the substrate. Micrometer-wide carbon sheets consisting of several atomic layers thick graphene sheets have been synthesized by controlled decomposition of carbon radicals in ECR-PECVD. Raman spectroscopy of these films revealed characteristics of a disordered graphitic sheet. Thick folded carbon-sheets and a semi transparent freestanding CNSs have been observed by scanning electron microscopy. This is a promising technique to synthesize free standing CNSs and can be used in the fabrication of nanoelecronic devices in future. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A comparative study of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor gate dielectrics for solution-processed polymer thin-film transistor circuit integration

This paper considers plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) silicon nitride (SiNx) and silicon oxide (SiOx) as gate dielectrics for organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), with solution-processed poly[5, 5′ -bis(3-dodecyl-2-thienyl)-2, 2′ -bithiophene] (PQT-12) as the active semiconductor layer. We examine transistors with SiNx films of varying composition deposited at 300 °C as well as 150 °C for plastic compatibility. The transistors show over 100% (two times) improvement in field-effect mobility as the silicon content in SiNx increases, with mobility (μFE) up to 0.14 cm2 /V s and on/off current ratio (ION / IOFF) of 108. With PECVD SiOx gate dielectric, preliminary devices exhibit a μFE of 0.4 cm2 /V s and ION / IOFF of 108. PQT-12 OTFTs with PECVD SiNx and SiOx gate dielectrics on flexible plastic substrates are also presented. These results demonstrate the viability of using PECVD SiN x and SiOx as gate dielectrics for OTFT circuit integration, where the low temperature and large area deposition capabilities of PECVD films are highly amenable to integration of OTFT circuits targeted for flexible and lightweight applications. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Boron-doped silicon nanowires grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Boron-doped ( B-doped) silicon nanowires have been successfully synthesized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at 440degreesC using silane as the Si source, diborane( B2H6) as the dopant gas and An as the catalyst. It is desirable to extend this technique to the growth of silicon nanowire pn junctions because PECVD enables immense chemical reactivity.

ENHANCEMENT EFFECT OF PLASMA-ENHANCED CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITED SIN CAPPING LAYER ON DIELECTRIC CAP QUANTUM-WELL DISORDERING

Quantum well disordering of GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well(MQW) has been accomplished with only plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) SiN cap layer growth. The amount of blue shift increases with SiN growing time. This result has been explained by the vacancy indiffusion during PECVD SiN growth. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of the sample after SiN cap layer growth at 850 degrees C for 35 s caused a larger amount of blue shift than those obtained without RTA. By considering the model of Al diffusion from AlGaAs barrier into GaAs QWs together with the result from photoluminescence (PL) measurement, Al diffusion coefficients were calculated. The Al diffusion coefficient due to PECVD SiN was estimated at about 3 x10(-17) cm(2)/s. It was possible to extract the effect of RTA on the QW disordering, which showed that the amount of the blue shift and the Al diffusion coefficient due only to RTA increases with SiN cap layer thickness as reported by Chi et al.(10))

Polymorphous silicon nanowires synthesized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Polymorphous Si nanowires (SiNWS) have been successfully synthesized on Si wafer by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at 440degreesC,using silane as the Si source and Au as the catalyst. To grow the polymorphous SiNWS preannealing the Si substrate with Au film at 1100 degreesC is needed. The diameters of Si nanowires range from 15 to 100 urn. The structure morphology and chemical composition of the SiNWS have been characterized by high resolution x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, as well as energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. A few interesting nanowires with Au nanoclusters uniformly distributed in the body of the wire were also produced by this technique.

Diverse Amorphous Carbonaceous Thin Films Obtained by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition and Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation and Deposition

Diverse amorphous hydrogenated carbon and similar films containing additional elements were produced by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) and by Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation and Deposition (PIIID). Thus a-C:H, a-C:H:F, a-C:H:N, a-C:H:Cl and a-C:H:O:Si were obtained, starting from the same feed gases, using both techniques. The same deposition system supplied with radiofrequency (RF) power was used to produce all the films. A cylindrical stainless steel chamber equipped with circular electrodes mounted horizontally was employed. RF power was fed to the upper electrode; substrates were placed on the lower electrode. For PIIID negative high tension pulses were also applied to the lower electrode. Raman spectroscopy confirmed that all the films are amorphous. Chemical characterization of each pair of films was undertaken using Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The former revealed the presence of specific structures, such as C-H, C-O, O-H. The latter allowed calculation of the ratio of hetero-atoms to carbon atoms in the films, e. g. F:C, N:C, and Si:C. Only relatively small differences in elemental composition were detected between films produced by the two methods. The deposition rate in PIIID is generally reduced in relation to that of PECVD; for a-C:H:Cl films the reduction factor is almost four.

Plasma-polymerized acetylene nanofilms modified by nitrogen ion implantation

Thin films were prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) from a mixture of acetylene and argon, and post deposition-treated by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). The effect of PIII on the nanofilms properties was evaluated as a function of treatment time. The average thickness and roughness were diminished upon PIII. On the other hand, hardness (0.7-3.9 GPa) and elastic modulus (29-54 GPa) increased upon 60 min of ion bombardment. Such results are ascribed mainly to the densification of the film structure caused by the increment in the crosslinking degree with increasing the energy deposited in the films. Wettability of the samples, investigated by contact angle measurements, was reduced (from 64 to 21°) right after PIII. This result, attributed to the introduction of polar groups in the film structure, was not preserved as the sample was aged in atmosphere. After aging, contact angles were larger than 70° but still smaller than 90°. Although the wettability has decreased with aging, the hydrophilic character of the samples was preserved. For certain treatment times, nitrogen PIII turned the plasma-polymerized acetylene films smoother, denser, mechanically and tribologicaly more resistant than the as-deposited material. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Optical, mechanical and surface properties of amorphous carbonaceous thin films obtained by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition

Diverse amorphous hydrogenated carbon-based films (a-C:H, a-C:H:F, a-C:H:N, a-C:H:Cl and a-C:H:Si:O) were obtained by radiofrequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIIID). The same precursors were used in the production of each pair of each type of film, such as a-C:H, using both PECVD and PIIID. Optical properties, namely the refractive index, n, absorption coefficient, α, and optical gap, ETauc, of these films were obtained via transmission spectra in the ultraviolet-visible near-infrared range (wavelengths from 300 to 3300 nm). Film hardness, elastic modulus and stiffness were obtained as a function of depth using nano-indentation. Surface energy values were calculated from liquid drop contact angle data. Film roughness and morphology were assessed using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The PIIID films were usually thinner and possessed higher refractive indices than the PECVD films. Determined refractive indices are consistent with literature values for similar types of films. Values of ETauc were increased in the PIIID films compared to the PECVD films. An exception was the a-C:H:Si:O films, for which that obtained by PIIID was thicker and exhibited a decreased ETauc. The mechanical properties - hardness, elastic modulus and stiffness - of films produced by PECVD and PIIID generally present small differences. An interesting effect is the increase in the hardness of a-C:H:Cl films from 1.0 to 3.0 GPa when ion implantation is employed. Surface energy correlates well with surface roughness. The implanted films are usually smoother than those obtained by PECVD. ©2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.