FTIR spectroscopy of silicon carbide thin films prepared by PECVD technology for solar cell application

The plasma CVD reactor with parallel plate electrodes was used for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of two type’s silicon carbide thin films on Si substrates. The concentration of elements in the films was determined by RBS and ERD analytical method simultaneously. The chemical compositions of the samples were analyzed by FTIR method. RBS and ERD results showed that the films contain silicon, carbon, hydrogen and small amount of oxygen. FTIR results confirmed the presence of Si-C, Si-H, C-H, and Si-O bonds. From the FTIR spectra the main following vibration frequencies were determined: the band from 2800 to 3000 cm-1 is attributed to stretching vibration of the CHn group in both the sp2 (2880 cm-1) and sp3 (2920 cm-1) configurations. The band at 2100 cm-1 is due to SiHm stretching vibrations. The band at 780 cm-1 can be assigned to Si-C stretching vibration. Main features of FTIR spectra were Gaussian fitted and detailed analyses of chemical bonding in SiC films were performed. Differences between two types of SiC films were discussed with the aim to using these films in the heterojunction solar cell technology.