Silane dissociation mechanisms and thin film formation in a low pressure multipole dc discharge

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Abstract
A silane plasma is generated by a hot cathode dc discharge in a partially confining multipolar magnetic structure yielding hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films on the walls. The low‐pressure range (0.1–5 mTorr) allows the analysis of the elementary processes for SiH4 dissociation. At low silane partial pressure the deposition rate remains in the range of 1–10 Å/sec, but the contribution of ions to deposition can reach up to 80% in contrast with standard glow discharges.