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Optoelectronic Properties of Plasma CVD a-Si:H Modified by Filament-Generated Atomic H

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Abstract

We have studied a-Si:H prepared by alternating plasma deposition with atomic H treatments performed with a heated W filament. Real time spectroscopie ellipsometry provides the evolution of film thickness, optical gap, and a measure of the fraction of Si-Si bonds broken in the near-surface (200 Å) during H-exposure of single films. This information guided us to the desired parameters for the H-treatments. Here, we concentrate on a weak hydrogenation regime characterized by minimal etching, a higher H content by 2 at.%, and a larger optical gap by 0.02 eV for the growth/hydrogenation structures in comparison to continuously deposited control samples. This new material has shown an improvement in the defect density in the light-soaked state in comparison to the control samples. This may result from stabilization of the Si structure due to an increase in the H chemical potential in the a-Si:H.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by EPRI Thin Film Solar Cell Program and the Solar Energy Research Institute under Subcontract No. XG-10063-10.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Electronic Materials and Processing, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Y. M. Li, I. An, M. Gunes, R. M. Dawson, R. W. Collins & C. R. Wronski

  2. Materials Research Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    C. R. Wronski

  3. Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Y. M. Li, I. An & R. W. Collins

Authors
  1. Y. M. Li
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  2. I. An
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  3. M. Gunes
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  4. R. M. Dawson
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  5. R. W. Collins
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  6. C. R. Wronski
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Li, Y.M., An, I., Gunes, M. et al. Optoelectronic Properties of Plasma CVD a-Si:H Modified by Filament-Generated Atomic H. MRS Online Proceedings Library 258, 57–62 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-258-57

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