Patent ID: 7700165

Claim:
A method of forming a deposited film comprising microcrystalline silicon or a deposited film comprising amorphous silicon by plasma CVD, the method comprising: changing at least one of conditions selected from (a) a high frequency power density, (b) a bias voltage with respect to an interelectrode distance, (c) a bias current with respect to an electrode area, (d) a high frequency power with respect to a source gas flow rate, (e) a ratio of a diluting gas flow rate to a source gas flow rate, (f) a substrate temperature, (g) a pressure, and (h) an interelectrode distance from boundary conditions that change between conditions for forming a deposited film of a microcrystalline region in which a ratio of a Raman scattering intensity due to a crystalline component of a crystalline substance to a Raman scattering intensity due to an amorphous component is more than one and conditions for forming a deposited film of an amorphous region in which a ratio of a Raman scattering intensity due to a crystalline component of a crystalline substance to a Raman scattering intensity due to an amorphous component is less than one, within a range represented by the equations of 0<a≦0.5 W/cm 2 ; 0<b≦150 V/cm; 0<c≦0.3 mA/cm 2 ; 0<d≦3 W/sccm; 0<e≦10; 0<f≦20° C.; 0<g≦200 Pa; and 0<h≦5 mm.