Thermoelectric Properties of Doped Polycrystalline Silicon Film

Authors: Li Long, Thomas Ortlepp

Abstract:

The transport properties of carriers in polycrystalline silicon film affect the performance of polycrystalline silicon-based devices. They depend strongly on the grain structure, grain boundary trap properties and doping concentration, which in turn are determined by the film deposition and processing conditions. Based on the properties of charge carriers, phonons, grain boundaries and their interactions, the thermoelectric properties of polycrystalline silicon are analyzed with the relaxation time approximation of the Boltzmann transport equation. With this approach, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient as a function of grain size, trap properties and doping concentration can be determined. Experiment on heavily doped polycrystalline silicon is carried out and measurement results are compared with the model.

Keywords: Conductivity, polycrystalline silicon, relaxation time approximation, Seebeck coefficient, thermoelectric property.

References:

[1] C. Goupil, W. Seifert, K. Zabrocki, E. M¨uller, and G. J. Snyder, “Thermodynamics of thermoelectric phenomena and applications,” Entropy, vol. 2011, no. 13, pp. 1481–1516, Aug. 2011.
[2] H. B. Callen, “The application of Onsager’s reciprocal relations to thermoelectric, thermomagnetic, and galvanomagnetic effects,” Phys. Rev., vol. 73, no. 11, pp. 1349–1358, Jun. 1948.
[3] N. F. Hinsche, F. Rittweger, M. H¨olzer, P. Zahn, A. Ernst, and I. Mertig, “Ab initio description of the thermoelectric properties of heterostructures in the diffusive limit of transport,” Phys. Status Solidi, vol. A 213, no. 3, pp. 672–683, Oct. 2015.
[4] N. C.-C. Lu, L. Gerzberg, C.-Y. Lu, and J. D. Meindl, “Modeling and optimization of monolithic polycrystalline silicon resistors,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. ED-28, no. 7, pp. 818–830, Jul. 1981.
[5] J. Y. W. Seto, “The electrical properties of polycrystalline silicon films,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 46, no. 12, pp. 5247–5254, Dec. 1975.
[6] Y. Kajikawa, “Conduction model covering non-degenerate through degenerate polycrystalline semiconductors with non-uniform grain-boundary potential heights based on an energy filtering model,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 112, no. 12, p. 123713, Dec. 2012.
[7] N. Neophytou, X. Zianni, H. Kosina, S. Frabboni, B. Lorenzi, and D. Narducci, “Simultaneous increase in electrical conductivity and seebeck coefficient in highly boron-doped nanocrystalline Si,” Nanotechnology, vol. 24, no. 20, p. 205402, May 2013.
[8] V. Vargiamidis, M. Thesberg, and N. Neophytou, “Theoretical model for the seebeck coefficient in superlattice materials with energy relaxation,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 126, no. 5, p. 055105, Aug. 2019.
[9] C. B. Vining, “A model for the high-temperature transport properties of heavily doped n-type silicon-germanium alloys,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 331–341, Jan. 1991.
[10] N. C.-C. Lu, L. Gerzberg, C.-Y. Lu, and J. D. Meindl, “A conduction model for semiconductor-grain-boundary-semiconductor barriers in polycrystalline-silicon films,” IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. ED-30, no. 2, pp. 137–149, Feb. 1983.
[11] A. Popescu, L. M. Woods, J. Martin, and G. S. Nolas, “Model of transport properties of thermoelectric nanocomposite materials,” Phys. Rev. B, vol. 79, p. 205302, May 2009.
[12] G. D. Mahan, L. Lindsay, and D. A. Broido, “The seebeck coefficient and phonon drag in silicon,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 116, p. 245102, Dec. 2014.
[13] S. S. Li, Semiconductor Physical Electrons, 1st ed. New York, NY, USA: Plenum Press, 1993.
[14] J. Lutz, H. Schlangenotto, U. Scheuermann, and R. D. Doncker, Semiconductor Power Devices, Physics, Characteristics, Reliability, 1st ed. Berlin, Germany: Springer, 2011.
[15] M. Lundstrom, Fundamentals of carrier transport, 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge university press, 2000.
[16] M. V. Fischetti and S. E. Laux, “Band structure, deformation potentials, and carrier mobility in strained Si, Ge, and SiGe alloys,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 80, no. 10, pp. 2234–2252, Jun. 1996.
[17] B. P. Tyagi and K. Sen, “Electrical properties of polycrystalline silicon in the dark and under illumination,” phys. stat. sol. (a), vol. 90, no. 2, pp. 709–713, Aug. 1985.
[18] K. v. Maydell, S. Brehme, N. H. Nickel, and W. Fuhs, “Electronic transport in P-doped laser-crystallized polycrystalline silicon,” Thin Solid Films, vol. 487, no. 1-2, pp. 93–96, Sept. 2005.
[19] J. M. Dorkel and P. Leturcq, “Carrier mobilities in silicon semi-empirically related to temperature, doping and injection level,” Solid-State Electronics, vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 821–825, Sep. 1981.
[20] N. Neophytou and H. Cosina, “Large enhancement in hole velocity and mobility in p-type
[110] and
[111] silicon nanowires by cross section scaling: An atomistic analysis,” Nano Lett., vol. 10, no. 12, pp. 4913–4919, Nov. 2010.
[21] Silvaco, Athena user’s manual. Santa Clara, CA 95054: Silvaco, Inc, 2015.
[22] J. Y. W. Seto, “Deposition of polycrystalline silicon by pyrolysis of silane in argon,” J. Electrochem. Soc.: Solid-State Science and Technology, vol. 122, no. 5, pp. 701–706, May 1975.
[23] F. V¨olklein and H. Baltes, “Thermoelectronic properties of polysilicon films doped with phosphorus and boron,” Sensors and Materials, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 325–334, Sept. 1991.
[24] N. Neophytou, S. Foster, V. Vargiamidis, G. Pennelli, and D. Narducci, “Nanostructured potential well/barrier engineering for realizing unprecedentedly large thermoelectric power factors,” Materials Today Physics, vol. 11, p. 100159, Dec. 2019.