The Physics of Plasma Deposition of Microcrystalline Silicon

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Abstract
The growth of microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si), deposited by a succession of silane and hydrogen plasmas, is investigated in situ by ellipsometry in the visible and near UV-range. It is found that the amorphous tissue is more affected by the hydrogen etching than the crystallites. The model of “selective etching” emerges from these measurements. Although this model is compatible with the “partial chemical equilibrium” of Vep̌ek, it is somewhat more general and explains the porous nature of the (μc-Si) as well as the many atomic layers deposition-etching sequences.