Deposition of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon films by gas-jet plasma-chemical method

Using gas-jet plasma-chemical method with gas activation by an electron beam, uniform thin films of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon in the forevacuum pressure range were obtained. Effects of argon carrier gas flow rate, monosilane gas concentration, background pressure in the reaction chamber, the substrate material, and the magnitude of the activating electron beam current on the deposition rate, photosensitivity, and crystallinity of silicon layers were studied. Deposition rate above 1 nm/s was achieved for films of amorphous silicon, and for layers with crystallinity about 60% the deposition rate was exceeded 0.6 nm/s. It is established that the substrate material does not affect the structure of the deposited silicon layers and their deposition rate.