siliciumlagen

Siliciumlagen, or silicon layers, are thin films composed primarily of silicon that are deposited on a substrate to form functional regions in electronic devices, sensors, and coatings. They can be crystalline (c-Si), polycrystalline (poly-Si), or amorphous (a-Si). The thickness ranges from a few nanometers to several micrometers, and their electrical, optical, and mechanical properties are dictated by crystallinity, dopant content, and the quality of the silicon–substrate interface.

Common deposition methods include chemical vapor deposition (CVD), such as plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) and low-pressure CVD (LPCVD); physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods like sputtering; and epitaxial approaches such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and atomic layer deposition (ALD). Doping is achieved during growth or by post-deposition implantation, enabling n-type or p-type layers for semiconductor devices.

Silicon layers are central to modern electronics: active regions in integrated circuits and diodes, thin-film transistors in displays, and as absorber layers in some solar cells. They also serve in protective coatings, diffusion barriers, and optical coatings when paired with oxides or nitrides. Interface quality, hydrogen incorporation in amorphous silicon, and strain at interfaces influence performance and reliability.