The thermal stability of thick (≈4 μm) plasma‐grown hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) layers on glass upon application of a rather rapid annealing step is investigated. Such films are of interest as precursor layers for laser liquid‐phase crystallized silicon solar cells. However, at least half‐day annealing at T ≈550 °C is considered to be necessary so far to reduce the hydrogen (H) content and thus avoid blistering and peeling during the crystallization process due to H. By varying the deposition conditions of a‐Si:H, layers of rather different thermal stability are fabricated. Changes in the surface morphology of these a‐Si:H layers are investigated using scanning electron microscopy and profilometry measurements. Hydrogen effusion, secondary‐ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiling, and Raman spectroscopy measurements are also carried out. In summary, amorphous silicon precursor layers are fabricated that can be heated within 30 min to a temperature of 550 °C without peeling and major surface morphological changes. Successful laser liquid‐phase crystallization of such material is demonstrated. The physical nature of a‐Si:H material stability/instability upon application of rapid heating is studied.

We regret to inform our readers that Dr. Wolfhard Beyer has passed away during the review process of this publication. IntroductionHydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films are widely used and are of interest for various technologies like thin film solar cells, [1][2][3] silicon heterojunction solar cells, [4][5][6] thin film silicon solar cells on glass, [7][8][9] as well as transistors in large area displays. [10] Hydrogen plays a crucial role in these devices as it passivates silicon defects. Of particular, importance can be the motion of hydrogen during deposition at elevated temperatures and upon heat treatment. In recent time, interest has increased in details and mechanisms of a-Si:H film disintegration and peeling. [8,[11][12][13] These latter effects are known to occur mostly during annealing, in particular involving rapid heating. Related to such disintegration effects may be bubble and pinhole formation due to accumulation of H at interfaces. [14][15][16] The detachment of H containing silicon alloys and layer stacks upon thermal treatment is crucially problematic for the previously mentioned applications. Hence, it is important to understand the mechanisms of hydrogen motion to avoid the destruction of the films.In this article, we study by SIMS depth profiling the disintegration of deuterated and hydrogenated (a-Si:D/a-Si:H) layer structures after annealing by using a continuous wave (CW)