Luminescence and magnetic resonance in post-hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon

We report photoluminescence, EPR and ODMR studies of plasma hydrogenated LPCVD microcrystalline silicon thin films. Apart from the dangling bond EPR resonance which is similar to that observed in a-Si : H, and possibly the emission at 1.3 eV, we find emission bands and resonance signals quite unlike those observed in normal c-Si and a-Si : H. We conclude that μc-Si : H cannot be regarded purely as crystallites of pure silicon embedded in a matrix of a-Si : H.     

A DLTS study of the effects of boron counterdoping on the gap states in n-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon

The technique of Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) and related space charge measurement techniques have been applied to a series of 300 vppm phosphine (PH₃) doped, 0–44 vppm diborane (B₂H₆) counterdoped samples of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). The trends in the resulting density of states, g(E), show: (1) A large increase of g(E) at ≈0.4 to 0.6 eV from the valence band, comparable in magnitude to the total number of B atoms introduced; (2) A smaller decrease in the midgap dangling bond states on the order of ≈2.5% of the added B; (3) A drop in the number of occupied shallow states ≈0.5%; and (4) A quantitative assessment of the degree of autocompensation which shows roughly five compensating midgap states removed for every six shallow acceptor states introduced by B.     

Spectroscopic determination of the position of the ferm-level in doped amorphous hydrogenated silicon

The variation of the Fermi energy E_F of _a-Si:H with boron or phosphorus doping has been determined by means of photoelectron spectroscopy. The results are shown to be consistent with those obtained from the activation energy of the conductivity. The p-type charge carriers are concentrated in a region 0.3 eV above the spectroscopically determined valence band edge.     

Gap states in hydrogenated amorphous silicon: A comparison of photoemission and photoconductivity results

We report photoemission results from which we directly determined the density of states g(E) in the gap of a-Si:H between the top of the valence band E_v and the Fermi level. At 0.4 eV above E_v, g(E) was found to be ≈1×10²⁰ cm^-3 eV^-1 in the undoped film; P-doping increased g(E) in this region whereas annealing reduced it. The photoconductivity-derived optical absorption spectrum matched the shape of the photoemission spectrum, and thus supports the explanation that the photoconductivity shoulder at photon energies in the region of 1.3 eV is due to transitions from localized states above the valence band to the conduction band.     

The temperature dependence of optical gap and photoconductivity threshold in undoped hydrogenated amorphous silicon films

We report on the temperature dependences of the optical gap E_o and the photoconductivity threshold (?ω)_o for undoped hydrogenated amorphous silicon films. When increasing the temperature, both E_o and (?ω)_o are seen to linearly decrease at respective rates β= 3.5 10^?4 eV K^?1 (temperature range 290 K–460 K) and γ= 5.2 10^?4 eV K^?1 (temperature range 220 K – 360 K). At higher temperatures E_o decreases at the rate β = 14.3 10^?4 ev K^?1. Our results are discussed in terms of conduction in extended states. We show there is no physical reason in relating the temperature dependence of the activation energy and that of the gap as generally assumed. From optical absorption we deduce a minimum metallic conductivity σ_min the value of which agrees with Mott's predictions. On the contrary, σ_min measured from dark conductivity is nearly two orders of magnitude lower. A discussion is proposed infering band bending at the film substrate interface.     

Iron-related deep levels in silicon

Deep levels in iron-doped p-Si are investigated by means of capacitance transient spectroscopy. Five Fe-related defects are observed in suitably prepared samples. Rapid quenching produces interstitial Fe_i and FeB, which give rise to levels at E_v + 0.43 eVand 0.10 eV, respectively. Three further levels at E_v + 0.33 eV, E_v + 0.40 eV and E_v + 0.52 eV are caused by slower quenching rates. The concentration of E_v + 0.33 eV in slowly cooled Czochralski-grown Si strongly exceeds the concentration in similarly treated float-zone Si.     

Investigation of the electrophysical properties and structures of impurity-defective complexes in silicon doped with palladium

Electric and structural methods are used to investigate formation of impurity-defective complexes in silicon doped with palladium. It is demonstrated that acceptor levels E _C – 0.18 and E _v + 0.34 eV detected in silicon during incorporation of palladium are caused by singly and doubly negatively charged states of [Pd–V] complexes, and the donor level E _v + 0.32 eV is a product of chemical compound of palladium with hydrogen forming the [Pd–H] complex. It is assumed that the palladium impurity in the doped silicon samples causes the elastic crystal energy to change and impurity clouds to be formed around microdefects. An increase in the temperature of palladium diffusion in silicon causes the impurity clouds to decay and the microdefect core sizes to decrease with their subsequent chaining into a needle.     

Valence band photoemission spectroscopy of a ternary layered semiconductor: ZnIn2S4

UV photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) experiments have been carried out on the layer compound ZnIn₂S₄ employing several different photon energies in the range $\text{h}\text{?}{}_{\mathrm{\omega }}\text{= 9.5?21.2}\text{eV}$. The energy distribution curves (EDC's) exhibit four valence band density of states structures besides the Zn 3d peak. These five peaks appear 0.90 eV, 1.6 eV, 4.3 eV, 5.8 eV and 8.7 eV respectively below the top of the valence band, E_v. The atomic orbital character of the shallowest peak A appears different from that of the three deeper valence band peaks B, C and D and this is discussed in terms of the more or less pronounced ionic character of the intralayer chemical bonds. These results demonstrate that an overall understanding of the electronic states in complex structures can be achieved by an approach based on photoemission experiments and chemical bonding considerations which has been widely used in the past to study simple binary layer compounds.     

Chromium and chromium-boron pairs in silicon

Four different measurement techniques: EPR, NAA, DLTS, and luminescence were applied to characterize the properties of chromium in silicon. The solubility of chromium in silicon was determined and its pairing reaction with boron was studied. The energy level atE _c?0.23 eV was attributed to interstitial chromium and a second level atE _v+0.27 eV was correlated to chromium-boron pairs. The luminescence band of the chromium-boron pairs was clearly identified. The properties of chromium are compared with those of other transition metal impurities in silicon crystals.     

On the role of the dangling bond as a radiative centre in a-Si:H

A comparison of recent ODMR results a-Si : H with previously reported ESR and LESR measurements suggests that a principal radiative electron centre has g=2.0055 and may therefore be identified as the dangling board. Our results suggest that the dangling bond (DB) can participate in two distinct PL transitions, centred near 1.25 eV and 0.9 eV, which are present to a measurable extent in all samples examined, in the medium-to-high quantum efficiency range (η_PL ～ 0.1?1.0). This conclusion is in contrast with the generally accepted role of the dangling bond in a-Si : H as primarily a non-radiative recombination centre, but is consistent with a variety of data from other experimental techniques.     

Interstitial iron and iron-acceptor pairs in silicon

Deep levels in iron-dopedp-type silicon are investigated by means of Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) and the Hall effect. Pairs of Fe with the acceptors B, Al, and Ga are observed at 0.1, 0.19, and 0.24 eV above the valence band edgeE _v. For interstitial iron, (Fe _i ), a level energy ofE _v+0.39+-0.02 eV is obtained with DLTS after correction with a measured temperature dependence of the capture cross section. The Hall effect yieldsE _v+0.37 eV for Fe_i. The annealing behavior of levels related to Fe is investigated up to 160 °C. Iron participates in at least four different types of impurity states: Fe _i , Fe-acceptor pairs, precipitations (formed above 120 °C) and an additional electrically inactive state, which is formed at room temperature.     

The effect of a weak magnetic field on the mobility of dislocations in silicon

The magnetoplastic effect in dislocation silicon is discovered. It is shown that in the presence of tensile stresses (up to 20 MPa), the mechanically activated path of surface dislocation half-loops is limited mainly by the dynamics of defects in various slip systems relative to the applied load. The activation barriers for the motion of dislocations controlled by various conditions in the temperature range T=850–950 K are E _aF=2.1±0.1 eV and E _aS=1.8±0.1 eV. An increase in the path of surface dislocation half-loops and a change in the activation barriers are detected (E _aF=1.4±0.1 eV and E _aS=1.6±0.1 eV) after subjecting silicon to a magnetic field (B=0.7 T) for 30 min. Possible reasons behind the observed effects are discussed.     

Energy levels of interstitial manganese in silicon

Interstitial manganese in silicon can exist in four charge states which imply single acceptor and double donor behaviour. The corresponding level scheme with the acceptor level ($\text{Mn}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>?</mtext><mtext>0</mtext>}}$) at E_c-0.13eV, the first donor level ($\text{Mn}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>0</mtext><mtext>+</mtext>}}$) at E_c?0.45eV and the second donor level (Mn^+/++) at E_v+0.30eV is established through EPR-controlled Hall measurements. Another deep donor level at E_c?0.54eV is produced by the donor acceptor pair (MnB) whereas a more shallow one around E_c-0.28eV was already attributed to a Mn₄-cluster.     

A study of built-in potential ina-Si solar cells by means of back-surface reflected electroabsorption

The electroreflectance (ER) signal has been studied for the purpose of identifying the built-in field in practical amorphous silicon (a-Si∶H) solar cells. Through both theoretical and experimental considerations, it has been confirmed that the ER signal essentially comes from the light which is reflected at the back surface and hence experiences the internal electric field within thea-Si∶H layer. By analyzing the ER signal, which is really the back-surface reflected electroabsorption signal, the built-in potentialV _bcan be evaluated. This method has been applied to various types ofp-i-n junctiona-Si solar cells.V _bof a usual homojunction solar cell was about 0.85 V. Increases ofV _bby 50≈130mV have been found in heterojunction solar cells constructed withp-type amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC∶H) and/orn-type microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) as compared with homojunctionp-i-n solar cells. Moreover, a clear dependence ofV _bon the substrate materials has been observed. These experimental results are described in connection with cell performances.     

渐变带隙氢化非晶硅锗薄膜太阳能电池的优化设计

利用一维微电子-光电子结构分析软件(AMPS-1D)在AM1.5G(100 mW/cm2)、室温条件下模拟和比较了有、无渐变带隙氢化非晶硅锗(a-SiGe:H)薄膜太阳能电池的各项性能.计算结果表明:渐变带隙结构电池具有较高的开路电压(V oc)和较好的填充因子(FF),转换效率(E ff)比非渐变带隙电池提高了0.477%.研究了氢化非晶硅(a-Si:H)、氢化非晶碳化硅(a-SiC:H)和氢化纳米晶硅(nc-Si:H)三种不同材料的窗口层对a-SiGe:H薄膜太阳能电池性能的影响.结果显示:在以nc-Si:H为窗口层的电池能带中,费米能级E F已经进入价带,使得窗口层电导率及电池开路电压有所提高,又由于ITO与p-nc-Si:H的接触势垒较低,使得接触处的电场降低,更有利于载流子的收集.另一方面,窗口层与a-SiGe:H薄膜之间存在较大的带隙差,在p/i界面由于能带补偿作用形成了价带势垒(带阶)?E v,阻碍了空穴的迁移,因此我们在p/i界面引入缓冲层,使得能带补偿作用得到释放,更有利于空穴的迁移和收集,得到优化后单结渐变带隙a-SiGe:H薄膜结构太阳能电池的转换效率达到了9.104%.     

Accumulation and annealing of implantation damage in a-Si:H

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films have been irradiated with H⁺, B⁺, P⁺, and Ar⁺ ion beams. The accumulation and the annealing of irradiation-induced defects has been investigated through a series of electronic transport and PDS measurements. We find that for all projectiles damage accumulation is dominated by atomic displacement collisions with the damage saturating for energy transfers in excess of about 10 eV/target atom. Annealing at elevated temperatures causes the conductivity of doped and irradiated a-Si:H films to increase according to stretched exponential decay curves. All annealing parameters derivable from such fits scale with the energy originally dissipated into atomic displacement collisions. For energy transfers up to 10 eV/target atom the activation energy for annealing increases up to a saturation value and, at the same time, an increasing fraction of the irradiation-induced defects becomes stable against annealing at moderate temperatures (T _a<250° C). We discuss these results with respect to damage accumulation data in crystalline silicon (c-Si) and with regard to the annealing of metastable defects in a-Si:H.     

Spectrum of photoinduced optical absorption in a-Si: H

Photoinduced absorption below the band gap in a-Si: H is interpreted in terms of transitions between holes trapped in states near the trap quasi-Fermi level and the valence band.     

Electronic properties of ultrathin films based on pyrrolofullerene molecules on the surface of oxidized silicon

Results of the investigation into the interface formation during the deposition of the films based on aziridinylphenylpyrrolofullerene (APP-C₆₀) up to 8 nm thick on the surface of the oxidized silicon substrate are presented. The procedure of detecting reflection of testing low-energy electron beam from the surface implemented in the total current spectroscopy mode with a change in the incident electron energy from 0 to 25 eV is used. The structure of maxima in the total current spectra induced by the APP-C₆₀ deposited film is established, and the character of interrelation of these maxima with π* and σ* energy bands in the studied materials is determined. It is revealed due to analyzing the variation in intensities of the total current spectra of the deposited APP-C₆₀ film and the (SiO₂)n-Si substrate that the APP-C₆₀ film is formed at the early deposition stage with the coating thickness thinner than one monolayer without the formation of the intermediate modified organic layer. As the APP-C₆₀/(SiO₂)n-Si interface is formed, the work function of the surface increases by 0.7 eV, which corresponds to the transfer of the electron density from substrate (SiO₂)n-Si toward the film APP-C₆₀. The optical absorption spectra of the APP-C₆₀ films are measured and compared with the spectra of films of unsubstituted C₆₀.     

Optical properties of amorphous CuInSe2

Optical absorption spectra of polycrystalline and amorphous CuInSe₂ thin films were measured at room temperature in the photon energy range from 0.8 to 2.1 eV. In amorphous CuInSe₂ the absorption coefficient follows the relation α(hv) = A(hv?E₀)/hv characteristic of optical transitions between extended states in both the valence and conduction band. The optical gap of E₀ = 1.38 ± 0.01 eV is larger than the fundamental gap energy of E_g = 1.01 ± 0.01 eV in crystalline CuInSe₂. A comparison of the results for CuInSe₂ with those for ZnSe is given.     

Morphology and the magnetic and conducting properties of heterogeneous layered magnetic structures [(Co45Fe45Zr10)35(Al2O3)65/a-Si:H]36

The morphology and the magnetic and conducting properties of an amorphous multilayer nanosystem [(Co₄₅Fe₄₅Zr₁₀)₃₅(Al₂O₃)₆₅/a-Si:H]₃₆ consisting of (Co₄₅Fe₄₅Zr₁₀)₃₅(Al₂O₃)₆₅ magnetic layers and semiconducting hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layers of various thicknesses have been studied. Using a combination of methods (including polarized neutron reflectometry and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering), it is shown that the magnetic and electrical properties of these multilayer structures are determined by their morphology. It is established that the magnetization and electric resistance of a sample is a nonmonotonic function of the a-Si:H layer thickness. Both characteristics are at a minimum for a structure with a semiconductor layer thickness of 0.4 nm. Samples with silicon layer thicknesses below 0.4 nm represent a three-dimensional structure of Co₄₅Fe₄₅Zr₁₀ grains weakly ordered in space, while in samples with silicon layer thicknesses above 0.4 nm, these grains are packed in layers alternating in the vertical direction. The average lateral distance between nanoparticles in the layer plane has been determined, from which the dimensions of metal grains in each sample have been estimated.