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Heat conduction in silicon thin films: Effect of microstructure

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Abstract

A study was made of the thermal properties of low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) silicon thin films with amorphous and polycrystalline microstructures, produced by varying the substrate temperature. Thermal diffusivity measurements were conducted using a thermal wave technique. The thermal diffusivity of the polycrystalline films was found to be about three times that of the amorphous films, but about one eighth that of bulk silicon single crystals. There was also an indication that the diffusivity increased with deposition temperature above the transition temperature from the amorphous to the polycrystalline state. The relationships between the thermal properties and microstructural features, such as grain size and grain boundary, are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ceramics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, 20899, Maryland, USA

    Lanhua Wei, Mark Vaudin & Grady White

  2. Nanoelectronics Laboratory, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 45221, Ohio, USA

    Jason Xu & Andrew J. Steckl

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, Detroit, 48201, Michigan, USA

    Lanhua Wei

  4. Department of Inorganic Materials Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

    Cheol Song Hwang

Authors
  1. Lanhua Wei
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  2. Mark Vaudin
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  3. Cheol Song Hwang
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  4. Grady White
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  5. Jason Xu
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  6. Andrew J. Steckl
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Wei, L., Vaudin, M., Hwang, C.S. et al. Heat conduction in silicon thin films: Effect of microstructure. Journal of Materials Research 10, 1889–1896 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.1995.1889

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.1995.1889

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