The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 09, 2009
Filed:
May. 04, 2006
Pooran Chandra Joshi, Vancouver, WA (US);
Tingkai LI, Vancouver, WA (US);
Yoshi Ono, Camas, WA (US);
Apostolos T. Voutsas, Portland, OR (US);
John W. Hartzell, Camas, WA (US);
Pooran Chandra Joshi, Vancouver, WA (US);
Tingkai Li, Vancouver, WA (US);
Yoshi Ono, Camas, WA (US);
Apostolos T. Voutsas, Portland, OR (US);
John W. Hartzell, Camas, WA (US);
Sharp Laboratories of America, Inc., Camas, WA (US);
Abstract
A method is provided for forming a silicon oxide (SiOx) thin-film with embedded nanocrystalline silicon (Si). The method deposits SiOx, where x is in the range of 1 to 2, overlying a substrate, using a high-density (HD) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. As a result, the SiOx thin-film is embedded with nanocrystalline Si. The HD PECVD process may use an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, a substrate temperature of less than about 400° C., and an oxygen source gas with a silicon precursor. In one aspect, a hydrogen source gas and an inert gas are used, where the ratio of oxygen source gas to inert gas is in the range of about 0.02 to 5. The SiOx thin-film with embedded nanocrystalline Si typically has a refractive index in the range of about 1.6 to 2.2, with an extinction coefficient in the range of 0 to 0.5.