Nonthermal plasmas have emerged as a viable synthesis technique for nanocrystal materials. Inherently solvent and ligand-free, nonthermal plasmas offer the ability to synthesize high purity nanocrystals of materials that require high synthesis temperatures. The nonequilibrium environment in nonthermal plasmas has a number of attractive attributes: energetic surface reactions selectively heat the nanoparticles to temperatures that can strongly exceed the gas temperature; charging of nanoparticles through plasma electrons reduces or eliminates nanoparticle agglomeration; and the large difference between the chemical potentials of the gaseous growth species and the species bound to the nanoparticle surfaces facilitates nanocrystal doping. This paper reviews the state of the art in nonthermal plasma synthesis of nanocrystals. It discusses the fundamentals of nanocrystal formation in plasmas, reviews practical implementations of plasma reactors, surveys the materials that have been produced with nonthermal pla...

Nonthermal Plasma Synthesis of Nanocrystals: Fundamental Principles, Materials, and Applications

Processes used to grow hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) from a H 2 /SiH 4 -glow discharge plasma are explained in comparison to those for hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). Differences and similarities between μc-Si:H and a-Si:H-growth reactions in the plasma and on the film-growing surface are discussed, and the nucleus-formation process followed by epitaxial-like crystal growth process is illustrated as unique processes for the formulation of μc-Si:H. Determination of the effect of dangling-bond defect density on the propagation of the resulting μc-Si:H films is also discussed in parallel with the effect on a-Si:H in order to obtain a clue to improve opto-electronic properties of those materials for device applications especially for thin-film-silicon solar cells. Material issues to produce low cost and high efficiency solar cells are described, and finally recent progress in those issues is demonstrated.

Microcrystalline silicon.. Growth and device application

The relations between the surface reaction probability β of an atom or a radical in a reactive gas discharge, its diffusive flux to the wall, spatial density profile and temporal density decay during the postdischarge, are examined. Then, the values of β for H, SiH3, and Si2H5 on a growing a-Si:H film, and CH3 and C2H5 on an a-C:H film are derived from the temporal decay of radical densities during the discharge afterglow by using time-resolved threshold ionization mass spectrometry. For SiH3 on a-Si:H, β=0.28±0.03 in excellent agreement with previous determinations using other experimental approaches, and for Si2H5, 0.1<β<0.3. For H on a-Si:H, 0.4<β<1 and mostly consists of surface recombination as H2, while the etching probability of Si as SiH4 is only e≈0.03 at 350 K in good agreement with other studies of H reaction kinetics on crystalline silicon. At high dilution of SiH4 in H2 the sticking probabilities of Si hydride radicals are affected by the flux of H atoms of hydrogen ions which enhances surfac...

Surface reaction probabilities and kinetics of H, SiH3, Si2H5, CH3, and C2H5 during deposition of a-Si:H and a-C:H from H2, SiH4, and CH4 discharges

High-density-plasma deposition of SiO2 is an important process in integrated circuit manufacturing A list of gas-phase and surface reactions has been compiled for modeling plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of SiO2 from SiH4, O2, and Ar gas mixtures in high-density-plasma reactors The gas-phase reactions include electron impact, neutral–neutral, ion–ion, and ion–neutral reactions The surface reactions and deposition mechanism is based on insights gained from attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy experiments and includes radical adsorption onto the SiO2 surface, ion-enhanced desorption from the surface layer, radical abstractions, as well as direct ion-energy-dependent sputtering of the oxide film A well-mixed reactor model that consists of mass and energy conservation equations averaged across the reactor volume was used to model three different kinds of high-density plasma deposition chambers Experimental measurements of total ion densities, relative radical dens

Modeling of SiO2 deposition in high density plasma reactors and comparisons of model predictions with experimental measurements

Foreword.- Introduction.- Status of heterojunction solar cell R&D.- Basic features of Heterojunctions illustrated by selected experimental methods and results.- Deposition methods of thin film silicon.- Electronic properties of ultrathin a-Si:H layers and the a-Si:H/c-Si interface.- Degradation of (bulk and thin film) a-Si and interface passivation.- Photoluminescence and electroluminescence for a Si:H/c Si device and interface characterization.- Deposition and properties of transparent conductive oxides.- Metallization and formation of contacts.- Electrical and optical characterization of a-Si:H/c Si cells.- Wet-chemical pre-treatment of c Si for a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunctions.- Theory of heterojunctions and the determination of band offsets from electrical measurements.- Modeling and simulation of a Si:H/c Si cells.- Surface passivation using ALD Al2O3.- Introduction to AFORS-HET.- Hands-on experience with simulation tools.- a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction and other high efficiency solar cells: a comparison.- Rear contact cells.- Progress in systematic industrialization of Hetero-Junction-based Solar Cell technology.

Physics and Technology of Amorphous-Crystalline Heterostructure Silicon Solar Cells

This paper presents a critical review of the basic data concerning the physics and chemistry of low pressure SiH 4 glow discharges used to deposit hydrogenated amorphous silicon films (a-Si:H). Starting with an updated table of thermochemical data, we analyze the gas-phase elementary processes consisting of i) electron-molecule collisions, ii) ion-molecule collisions, iii) neutral-neutral collisions, iv) other electron and ion collisions involving electron-ion and ion-ion recombination, electron attachment on radicals and detachment of anions, and v) cluster growth kinetics in dusty plasmas. Experimental data or theoretical estimates are given and discussed in terms of cross-sections. collision and reaction rate constants, and transport coefficients. We also analyze the surface processes and reaction probabilities of ions, radicals and molecules.

J. Perrin

Papers

Cross-Sections, Rate Constants and Transport Coefficients in Silane Plasma Chemistry