Study of Si and Ge Atoms Termination Using H-Dilution in SiGe:H Alloys Deposited by Radio Frequency (13.56 MHz) Plasma Discharge at Low Temperature

In this work, we present the study of the atomic composition in amorphous Si<sub>X</sub>Ge<sub>Y</sub>:H<sub>Z</sub> films deposited by radio frequency (RF&#8212;13.56 MHz) plasma discharge at low deposition temperature. A study and control of Si and Ge atoms...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ismael Cosme, Andrey Kosarev, Saraí Zarate-Galvez, Hiram E. Martinez, Svetlana Mansurova, Yuri Kudriavtsev
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
Series:Materials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/5/1045
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Summary:In this work, we present the study of the atomic composition in amorphous Si<sub>X</sub>Ge<sub>Y</sub>:H<sub>Z</sub> films deposited by radio frequency (RF&#8212;13.56 MHz) plasma discharge at low deposition temperature. A study and control of Si and Ge atoms termination using H-dilution in SiGe:H alloys deposited by RF plasma discharge was conducted and we made a comparison with low-frequency plasma discharge studies. Solid contents of the main elements and contaminants were determined by SIMS technique. It was found that for low dilution rates from R<sub>H</sub> = 9 to 30, the germanium content in the solid phase strongly depends on the hydrogen dilution and varies from Y = 0.49 to 0.68. On the other hand, with a higher presence of hydrogen in the mixture, the germanium content does not change and remains close to the value of Y = 0.69. The coefficient of Ge preferential incorporation depended on R<sub>H</sub> and varied from P<sub>Ge</sub> = 0.8 to 4.3. Also, the termination of Si and Ge atoms with hydrogen was studied using FTIR spectroscopy. Preferential termination of Si atoms was observed in the films deposited with low R<sub>H</sub> &lt; 20, while preferential termination of Ge atoms was found in the films deposited with high R<sub>H</sub> &gt; 40. In the range of 20 &lt; R<sub>H</sub> &lt; 40, hydrogen created chemical bonds with both Si and Ge atoms without preference.
ISSN:1996-1944