Thermally Induced Nano-Structural and Optical Changes of nc-Si:H Deposited by Hot-Wire CVD

We report on the thermally induced changes of the nano-structural and optical properties of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon in the temperature range 200 700 degrees C. The as-deposited sample has a high crystalline volume fraction of 53% with an average crystallite size of similar to 3.9 nm, where 66% of the total hydrogen is bonded as Si-H monohydrides on the nano-crystallite surface. A growth in the native crystallite size and crystalline volume fraction occurs at annealing temperatures >= 400 degrees C, where hydrogen is initially removed from the crystallite grain boundaries followed by its removal from the amorphous network. The nucleation of smaller nano-crystallites at higher temperatures accounts for the enhanced porous structure and the increase in the optical band gap and average gap.