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Long-range surface plasmons traveling on thin metal films have demonstrated promising potential in subwavelength waveguide applications. In work toward device applications that can leverage existing silicon microelectronics technology, it is of interest to explore the propagation of surface plasmons in a metal-oxide-semiconductor geometry. In such a structure, there is a high refractive index contrast between the semiconductor (n≈3.5 for silicon) and the insulating oxide (typically n≈1.5-2.5). However, the introduction of dielectrics with disparate refractive indices is known to strongly affect the guiding properties of surface plasmons. In this paper, we analyze the implications of high index contrast in 1D layered surface plasmon structures. We show that it is possible to introduce a thin dielectric layer with a low refractive index positioned next to the metal without adversely affecting the guiding quality. In fact, such a configuration can dramatically increase the propagation length of the conventional long-range mode. While this study is directed at silicon-compatible waveguides working at telecommunications wavelengths, this configuration has general implications for surface plasmon structure design using other materials and operating at alternative wavelengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which reported the results of ellipsometry measurements performed during the growth of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films on crystalline silicon substrates. Formation of low-density microstructure in the initial stages of growth; Effect of sputtering on the glow-discharge decomposition of gases; Discussion on the pseudodielectric function trajectories.

Presents information on a study which extended in situ ellipsometry characterization of the nucleation and microstrucutral evolution of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) to the effect of deposition parameters on these processes. Details about the structural evolution of a-Si:H; Important aspects of the ellipsometer/glow-discharge reactor system; General features of in situ trajectories.

Presents a study which examined the effect of substrate microstructure on the growth habit of high-quality hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Experimental details; Results and discussion; Conclusion.

Examines the optical properties of ion-beam-sputtered silicon and germanium using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Discrepancies between the structure of the p-silicon deduced from Raman and ellipsometry spectra; Significance of thin-film polycrystalline silicon; Psuedodielectric functions for ion-beam-deposited silicon prepared at different substrate temperatures.

Analyzes the structure of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon based n-1 two-layer system using spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. Details on the experiment; Data analysis; Results of the study.

To take into account the presence of multiple light-induced defect states in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) the evolution of the entire spectra of photoconductive subgap absorption, α(hν), has been analyzed. Using this approach two distinctly different light-induced defect states centered around 1.0 and 1.2 eV from the conduction band edge are clearly identified. Results are presented on their evolution and respective effects on carrier recombination that clearly point to the importance of these states in evaluating the stability of different a-Si:H solar cell materials, as well as elucidating the origin of the Staebler–Wronski effect. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forward bias current-voltage characteristics (J[sub D]-V) were studied for both p-i-n (superstrate) and n-i-p (substrate) (a-SiC:H p)/(a-Si:H i) solar-cell structures having different p/i interface layers and different thickness i-layers. Contributions of the p/i interfaces to the J[sub D]-V characteristics were separated, and the dependence on the thickness of the i-layers was established. Equivalence was observed in a comparison of the characteristics of p-i-n and n-i-p cells. The various J[sub D]-V characteristics are found to be consistent with uniform densities of defects in the i-layers, and thus inconsistent with the spatially varying large densities of defects predicted for solar-cell structures by the defect pool model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies near-field scanning optical nanolithography using amorphous silicon photoresists. Production of films that are stable over several days; Patterns with line heights equal to the original film thickness.

In situ ellipsometry provides monolayer sensitivity to the reaction of B2H6:SiH4 doping gas mixtures with p- and i-type plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited (PECVD) amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) surfaces at 180 and 250 °C. This low-temperature reaction, leading to the slow growth (1–3 Å/min) of a-Si:H:B by CVD (without plasma excitation), requires a clean a-Si:H surface and both B2H6 and SiH4 in the doping gas. We suggest that the high B content of CVD a-Si:H:B at p-i and i-p interfaces and on the film-coated regions of single-chamber reactors, may contribute to poor interface characteristics and residual contamination in devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ ellipsometry experiments have been used to probe the structural changes that occur in the initial stages of the growth of microcrystalline silicon ( μc-Si) on single-crystal Si substrates. The initial nucleation of μc-Si appears to occur at well-dispersed sites and ∼100 Å of material with significantly different optical properties than the bulk is buried at the film/substrate interface. The different optical structure of this interface layer is attributed to voids which are trapped when crystalline nuclei merge. These results are contrasted with recent data for hydrogenated amorphous silicon which show that nuclei converge after about 50 Å, leaving material with bulklike optical properties at the substrate interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real time spectroellipsometry and a two-layer optical analysis have been applied to obtain alloy composition (x) and optical gap (E[sub g]) depth profiles with ∼3 Å resolution and sensitivities better than ±0.01 in x and ±0.02 eV in E[sub g] for graded amorphous semiconductor alloy thin films prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Graded amorphous silicon–carbon alloy (a-Si[sub 1-x]C[sub x]:H) layers incorporated at the i–p interfaces of a-Si:H n-i-p solar cells have been studied using these methods, and the layer characteristics have been related to improvements in solar cell performance. © 1998 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) p–i–n solar cell performance has been optimized using a two-step i-layer growth process. This effort has been guided by real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) studies of the nucleation and growth of a-Si:H films by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at 200 °C using a variable H[sub 2]-dilution gas flow ratio R=[H[sub 2]]/[SiH[sub 4]]. RTSE studies during film growth with R>15 reveal a transition from the amorphous to microcrystalline (a→μc) phase at a critical thickness that decreases with increasing R. From such results, the optimum two-step process was designed such that the initial stage of the i layer (∼200 Å) is deposited at much higher R than the bulk to ensure that the film remains within the amorphous side of the a→μc phase boundary, yet as close as possible to this boundary at low i-layer thicknesses. © 1998 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]