Effect of Deposition Conditions on Intrinsic Stress in a-Si: H Films

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Abstract
Intrinsic stress in the a-Si: H film, which reflects the internal microstructure of the film under deposition and thus gives the information about the construction of amorphous network, has been evaluated by the Baser interferometric method. The intrinsic stress induced in the a-Si: H film is compressive and increases with the deposition temperature. As the intrinsic compressive stress is increased, decreases are observed in the deposition rate, the total hydrogen concentration, and the ratio of hydrogen concentration with the configuration SiH2, SiH3, and (SiH2) n to that with SiH. These results on the temperature dependence of a-Si: H film growth indicate that the contribution of excited species in the plasma to the growth of the a-Si: H is restricted by the intrinsic compressive stress induced in the a-Si: H through differences in molecular dimensions of the excited species.