Annealing of Irreversible Defects in Hydrogenated and Unhydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Thin Films

ABSTRACTWe have prepared unhydrogenated and hydrogenated ([H] = 14 at.%) amorphous silicon thin films using magnetron sputtering with substrate temperature, TS = 40°C. After deposition, the films were annealed at temperatures between 150 and 200°C and conductivity was measured as a function of anneal time. We find that for that for both materials, the conductivity changes non-exponentially with annealing time. The characteristic time constant for annealing at 175°C is approximately the same in unhydrogenated films (τ≈100min) as found in films containing 14 atomic % hydrogen (τ≈200min).