Detailed Study of Ion Bombardment in Rf Glow Discharge Deposition Systems: The Role of Helium Dilution

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe present a detailed study of the variables (reactor geometry, gas pressure, rf power and silane dilution) which control the flux and energy of the ions impinging on the substrate in capacitively-coupled rf glow discharge systems. The ion flux and ion energy, measured with an electrostatic energy analyzer, were found to be largely dependent on the reactor geometry, which was quantified by the ratio of the area of the grounded surfaces Sg to the area of the rf electrode Sc. Special attention was paid to the effects of the dilution of silane in hydrogen, helium and argon. Helium and hydrogen dilution were found the most effective means to increase ion bombardment while argon dilution has little effect on the ion energy distribution. Furthermore, it is likely that ion bombardment at moderate energy (Eion < 70 eV) does not induce any serious degradation of the electronic properties of a-Si:H films.