Effects of the Fabrication Processes of NC-Si:H Films on Their Mechanical Properties

Studies of nanoindentation were performed on nc-Si:H films to evaluate the effects of the fabrication processes on their mechani-cal properties. It is observed that with the decrease of the SiH4 contents, the grain size of the films increases gradually, and as does the crystalline volume fraction. The smaller the grains become, the more homogeneous the films, and the more even the hardness as well as the modulus will be. The hardness and the modulus will increase with the substrate’s temperature rising. The hardness and the modulus of the nc-Si:H films on the Si substrate prove to be higher than those on the glass substrate given the same technology parameters. How-ever, the films on the glass substrate appear to be more homogeneous.