High order silane composition, and method of forming silicon film using the composition

Abstract

It is an object of the present invention to provide a high order silane composition that contains a polysilane having a higher molecular weight than conventionally, this being from the viewpoints of wettability when applying onto a substrate, boiling point and safety, and hence in particular enables a high-quality silicon film to be formed easily, and also a method of forming an excellent silicon film using the composition. The present invention attains this object by providing a high order silane composition containing a polysilane obtained through photopolymerization by irradiating a solution of a photopolymerizable silane or a photopolymerizable like-liquid silane with ultraviolet light. Moreover, the present invention provides a method of forming a silicon film comprising the step of applying such a high order silane composition onto a substrate.

1 . A method of forming a silicon film over a substrate comprising: 
 irradiating a first liquid material with a light to form a second liquid material, the first liquid material including a silane compound that is represented by the general formula Si n X 2n , each X independently representing a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom, and n being an integer greater than or equal to 3, the second liquid material including a first polysilane component and a second polysilane component, a molecular weight of the first polysilane component being larger than a molecular weight of the second polysilane component; and    applying the second liquid material to the substrate.    
   
   
       2 . A method of forming a silicon film over a substrate comprising: 
 irradiating a first liquid material with a light to form a second liquid material, the first liquid material including a silane compound that is represented by the general formula SinX 2n , each X independently representing a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom, and n being an integer greater than or equal to 3, the second liquid material including a first polysilane component and a second polysilane component, a molecular weight of the first polysilane component being larger than a molecular weight of the second polysilane component such that the first polysilance component is a precipitate in the second liquid material;    removing the precipitate from the second liquid material by filtering to form a third liquid material, a viscosity of the third liquid material being within the range of 1 to 100 m Pa s; and    applying the third liquid material to the substrate.    
   
   
       3 . A method of forming a silicon film over a substrate comprising: 
 irradiating a first liquid material with a light to form a second liquid material, the first liquid material including a silane compound that is represented by the general formula Si n X 2n , each X independently representing a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom, and n being an integer greater than or equal to 3, the first liquid material including a substance that has at least one of the group 3B elements of the periodic table and the group 5B elements of the periodic table, the second liquid material including a first polysilane component and a second polysilane component, a molecular weight of the first polysilane component being larger than a molecular weight of the second polysilane component; and    applying the second liquid material to the substrate.    
   
   
       4 . The method of forming a silicon film over a substrate according to  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 adding a substance to the first liquid material before the irradiating the first liquid material with the light, the substance including at least one of the group 3B elements of the periodic table and the group 5B elements of the periodic table.    
   
   
       5 . The method of forming a silicon film over a substrate according to  claim 1 , the silane compound being photopolymerized by the irradiating the first liquid material with the light.  
   
   
       6 . The method of forming a silicon film over a substrate according to  claim 1 , the boiling point of the second liquid material at normal pressure being higher than the decomposition point of the second liquid material.  
   
   
       7 . The method of forming a silicon film over a substrate according to  claim 1 , the first liquid material including a solvent that has the boiling point lower than the decomposition point of the second liquid material.  
   
   
       8 . The method of forming a silicon film over a substrate according to  claim 1 , the first liquid material including a solvent that is not decomposable by the light.  
   
   
       9 . The method of forming a silicon film over a substrate according to  claim 1 , the light having a wavelength of at least 250 nm.  
   
   
       10 . The method of forming a silicon film over a substrate according to  claim 1 , the second liquid material being applied to the substrate by a droplet discharging method.