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Effects of dopants and defects on light-induced metastable states in a-Si:H

Journal Article · · Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States)

Using photothermal deflection spectroscopy we measure the gap-state optical absorption of light-induced metastable defects in undoped, singly-doped, and compensated a-Si:H. We observe an enhancement in the gap-state absorption after illumination which is shown to be due to the creation of new silicon dangling-bond defects and not to a shift in the Fermi level. For singly-doped material, the number of light-induced defects scales with dopant concentration, while full compensation (counter doping) drastically minimizes the density of these defects. The results provide evidence that the doping level influences the light-induced defect formation mechanism, and imply that simply breaking Si--Si bonds may not be the primary mechanism.

Research Organization:
Applied Physics and Laser Spectroscopy Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
OSTI ID:
5941684
Journal Information:
Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States) Vol. 31:4; ISSN PRBMD
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English