On the effect of the underlying ZnO:Al layer on the crystallization kinetics of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

In this contribution, we analyze the thickness effect of the underlying aluminum doped-zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) layers on the structural properties and crystallization kinetics of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films. It is shown that the disorder in as-deposited a-Si:H films, as probed by Raman spectroscopy, decreased with increasing ZnO:Al roughness. This caused an earlier nucleation upon crystallization when compared to a-Si:H layers directly grown on SiNx-coated glass.