Structural Variation and Its Influence on the 1/f Noise of a-Si_1-xRu_x Thin Films Embedded with Nanocrystals

The structural variation and its influence on the 1/f noise of a-Si_1-xRu_x thin films are investigated by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and low frequency noise measurement. The Ru atoms are introduced into the amorphous silicon thin films by rf magnetron co-sputtering. Ru_2Si nanocrystals are found in the as-deposited samples. It is shown that the 1/f noise of the films can be reduced by a slight doping with Ru atoms. Moreover, both the microstructure and the 1/f noise performance of a-Si_1-xRu_x thin films could be improved through a high-temperature annealing treatment.