Radiative recombination in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon exhibits efficient optical transitions across a gap larger than that of crystalline Si. Hydrogen passivates the dangling bonds and endows the material with a reduced number of non-radiative recombination centers. A gap widening has been observed in other hydrogenated semiconductors.Research reported herein was supported by the Department of Energy, Division of Solar Technology, under Contract No. EY-76-C-03-1286 and by RCA Laboratories, Princeton, NJ 08540.     

Distribution of recombination lifetimes in amorphous silicon

Light-induced ESR (LESR) and luminescence in aSi:H are studied in order to resolve a recent controversy over whether the low temperature recombination is geminate or non-geminate. New transient measurements find that at moderate excitation intensities, luminescence is predominately monomolecular, whereas LESR is not. We show that the different behavior occurs because there is a very broad distribution of decay times for geminate electron-hole pairs. LESR is dominated by a small fraction of the pairs which have a very long decay time and which therefore slowly generate a non-geminate distribution. Luminescence is dominated by the closer geminate pairs that recombine quickly.     

Characteristics of recombination processes in doped hydrated amorphous silicon films

The results of measurements of the temperature dependences of the dark conductivity and photoconductivity ofa-Si:H films, doped from the gas phase or by implantation of phosphorus or boron ions, as well as the effect of preillumination with white light with different duration on the photoconductivity are presented. A model is proposed for carrier recombination in doped films, taking into account the broadening of the levels of dangling bonds and the difference in the coefficients trapping of electrons and holes on neutral and charged dangling bonds. The dependence of the stationary interband photoconductivity on the equilibrium Fermi level and the appearance of the temperature-induced quenching of the photoconductivity in doped films after preillumination are studied on the basis of this model.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 6, pp. 7–17, June, 1987.     

Theoretical analysis of trapping and recombination of photogenerated carriers in amorphous silicon solar cells

We have made theoretical studies on the trapping and recombination of photogenerated carriers in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-SiH) p-i-n solar cells. We discuss in detail the following points: 1) The limitations of the assumptions in the previous analysis. It has been clarified that the single-level Shockley-Read-Hall model for carrier recombination and the treatment of trap occupation in terms of quasi-Fermi levels are inadequate for exact analysis. 2) The superlinear dependence of carrier recombination rate on the free-carrier density which can explain the enhancement of photo-induced changes ina-SiH under high intensity light. 3) The estimation of capture cross section of the tail states ina-SiH. We show that the charged and neutral tail states have rather small capture cross sections of less than 10^–16 cm² and of less than 10^–19 cm², respectively. 4) The effect of the recombination of photogenerated (PG) carriers at the p/i and the n/i interfaces. We estimate the recombination velocityS of PG carriers at these interfaces to be about 10³ cm/s. It has been also clarified that the decrease inS is effective to improve the cell performance, especially the open circuit voltage.     

Thermalization and recombination in amorphous semiconductors

The fate of carriers excited in an amorphous semiconductor by a pulse of light is described. Two processes are discussed: thermalization of carriers within a distribution of localized states, and carrier recombination.     

Radiative and nonradiative recombination processes in hydrogenated amorphous silicon as elucidated by optically detected magnetic resonance

Radiative and nonradiative recombination processes have been investigated by measurements of optically detected magnetic resonance at 2 K in hydrogenated anorphous silicon. Relevant processes are discussed on the basis of the experimental results.     

Band-to-band luminescence in amorphous silicon

We report the observation of band-to-band luminescence in hydrogenated amorphous Si and present results on the variation of the spectral shape and intensity of this luminescence on excitation photon energy and temperature. The results are very similar to those reported earlier for chalcogenide glasses, showing that the electronic states in the bands are similar in these two classes of amorphous solids. A new result is that the spectral shape in a-Si(H) is only slightly affected when the excitation density is increased from less than 10⁶ W/cm³ to ≈ 3×10¹¹ W/cm³.     

Infrared picosecond absorption spectroscopy of microcrystalline silicon: separation between carrier recombination in crystalline and amorphous fractions

We have studied ultra-fast carrier dynamics of photo-excited carriers in hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon prepared by a very high frequency glow-discharge technique. We report on direct observation of two types of dynamics using selective photo-excitation in picosecond pump and probe measurements. One type of the observed dynamics has been found to be independent of the sample preparation, while the other reflects the relative weights of crystalline and amorphous fractions. We propose a simple rate-equation model that describes the carrier dynamics in microcrystalline silicon in terms of the composition of those in Si microcrystallites and in the a-Si:H tissue which surrounds the microcrystallites. The model without any fitting parameters reproduces the experimental data very well when the dynamics are scaled with relative volume fractions as obtained from Raman spectra. Received: 23 November 2000 / Accepted: 17 March 2001 / Published online: 23 May 2001     

Nitrogen doping in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

A direct evidence of substitutional doping in ion beam deposited amorphous hydrogenated silicon by nitrogen is presented. From the analysis of infrared (IR) absorption spectra and Si-2p core level shape, measured with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the preferential tendency of nitrogen to go in for three-fold coordination at higher concentration and tetrahedral bonding at lower concentration (⩽4 at %) is established. XPS technique has been used for the first time to deduce the upper limit for substitutional solid solubility of the impurity.     

Persistent photoconductivity in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

The persistent photoconductivity (PPC) has been observed in undoped, phosphorus-doped, and boron-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si: H) films. As the annealing temperature is raised for these films the decay of residual conductivity is accelerated and the PPC disappears almost completely after annealing at 500°C. These experimental results rule out the mechanism requiring the phosphorus-boron complexes or the deep defects. The PPC is found to be related with the sample inhomogeneity from the experimental observation that the decay of residual conductivity is closely correlated with the microstructure. A model is proposed to explain the PPC in a-Si: H films.     

Hydrogen evolution in amorphous silicon carbide

The influence of the hydrogen content and its evolution in the annealing treatments of the structural properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition under different deposition conditions have been studied. The results indicate how strongly hydrogen affects the presence of defects in the amorphous network of the samples.     

Unusual atomic arrangements in amorphous silicon

The existence of small bond angles (like those of triangles and squares) in amorphous silicon networks were studied by the tight-binding molecular dynamics method, by analyzing the statistical data of Si-Si-Si fragments inside large molecules, and also by the Reverse Monte-Carlo simulation method. The influence of small bond angles on the electronic density of states was revealed.