title: Polymorphous silicon thin films obtained by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using dichlorosilane as silicon precursor.
abstract: Polymorphous silicon thin films (pm-Si) have been deposited from mixtures of dichlorosilane and hydrogen, using argon as the diluting gas by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The deposition conditions were chosen to simultaneously obtain both Si nanocrystallites and an amorphous silicon matrix in the as-grown samples. High resolution transmission electron microscopy studies show the crystallinity of Si domains whose dimensions are in the interval of 2-14 nm. The surface passivation state of the silicon nanocrystals was inferred from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. Two optical absorption edges, corresponding to the amorphous matrix and the Si nanocrystals, were observed for all the pm-Si thin films. Intense visible photoluminescence was observed for the as-grown samples. The possibility of using these thin films for the down-conversion effect in silicon solar cells is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70-360, Coyoacán, CP 04510, DF, Mexico.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Remolina
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Monroy
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: García-Sánchez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ponce
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bizarro
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Santana
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D005740:Gases; D006358:Hot Temperature; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D012821:Silanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012821:Silanes; D012825:Silicon