Characterization of local electrical properties of polycrystalline silicon thin films and hydrogen termination effect by conductive atomic force microscopy

We observed local electrical properties of polycrystalline silicon films by conductive atomic force microscopy. Moreover, we investigated the effects of hydrogen termination on the polycrystalline silicon films. Before hydrogen termination, conductive regions in grain disappeared with the repeated scanning of the cantilever, while conductive regions in grain boundary almost unchanged. It is considered that hopping conduction is a major electrical conduction mechanism at grain boundaries. After 5 min hydrogen termination, locally nonterminated regions were observed near grain boundaries. This suggests that hydrogen termination of the polycrystalline silicon does not randomly progress, and there are regions that cannot be easily inactivated near grain boundaries.