Study of Polycrystalline and Amorphous LPCVD Silicon Films by Atomic Force Microscopy

✍ Scribed by Pleschinger, A.; Lutz, J.; Kuchar, F.; Noll, H.; Pippan, M.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 181 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0142-2421
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9918(199706)25:7/8<529::aid-sia263>3.0.co;2-s

✦ Synopsis

The surface topography and structure of low-pressure chemical vapour-deposited silicon Ðlms grown on the thermal oxide of (100) silicon substrates have been investigated using atomic force microscopy. The measurements have been performed on undoped as-grown samples with deposition temperatures between 550 and 630 ÄC and after ex situ phosphorus doping for samples deposited at 620 ÄC. The transition from amorphous to polycrystalline deposition of the silicon Ðlm takes place in the temperature range 570-600 ÄC. At 570 ÄC a small number of crystallites are embedded in an amorphous matrix. With increasing temperature the number of crystallites grows rapidly and at 600 ÄC the deposited Ðlm is polycrystalline. Doping from a source and subsequent annealing of Ðlms POCl 3 deposited at 620 ÄC causes complete recrystallization. For the Ðrst time it has been possible to investigate the topography and the grain structure of polycrystalline silicon Ðlms using a scanning probe technique only. Our clear distinction between these two features allows controversial results from di †erent characterization methods to be clariÐed.