Study and fabrication of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon-carbon alloys for microelectronic applications

Abstract

Results on amorphous and microcrystalline silicon carbon alloy layers obtained by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition are reported. The investigations are focused on the deposition rate and carbon content for different deposition conditions. In order to assess the applicability of silicon carbon alloys films, heterojunctions of amorphous-SiC:H/crystalline Si (a-SiC:H/c-Si) and microcrystalline-SiC:H/crystalline Si (/spl mu/c-SiC:H/c-Si) diodes were fabricated and their current-voltage characteristics were compared. The obtained results indicate that the /spl mu/c-SiC:H/c-Si heterojunction presents electrical properties suitable for heterojunction bipolar transistor fabrication.