Argon ion beam assisted magnetron sputtering deposition of boron-doped a-Si:H thin films with improved conductivity

Boron-doped a-Si:H thin films were deposited by ion beam assisted magnetron sputtering under different assisted argon ion beam energies, and the changes of structural and electrical properties of the thin films were investigated using Raman spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and semiconductor parameter measurement system. It was observed that the short-range order of boron-doped a-Si:H thin films decreased slightly and the defect density of thin films increased with increasing assisted argon ion beam energy. The dark conductivity of boron-doped a-Si:H thin films improved significantly with increasing assisted argon ion beam energy. The conductivity of the boron-doped a-Si:H thin films with 500 eV argon ion beam bombardment was 2.1 × 10？7 S·cm？1, which was about three orders of magnitude higher than that of the thin films deposited without assisted ion beam. The significant change in conductivity of the boron-doped a-Si:H thin films deposited with assisted argon ion beam was mainly ascribed to the activation of threefold coordinated boron atoms.