Properties of thin film silicon, prepared at high growth rate in a wide range of thicknesses

Preparation of thin film silicon at high growth rate is an important target for its application in solar cells. The properties of hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon, prepared with the help of PECVD multi-hole cathode in a high pressure and depletion regime in a wide range of thicknesses are described in detail. We illustrate the surprising result that we can prepare high growth rate microcrystalline silicon from 0.4 up to 30 μm thickness without great peel-off problems. The room temperature dark DC conductivity, as well as the crystallinity, increased up to 5 μm film thickness and then started to decrease again. These results are explained by the initial temperature profiling and a thickness-induced increase of the lateral inhomogeneity.