1/f Noise and Thermal Equilibration Effects in Hot Wire Deposited Amorphous Silicon

1996 ◽  
Vol 420 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Khera ◽  
J. Kakalios ◽  
Q. Wang ◽  
E. Iwaniczko
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Dark Conductivity ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Thermal Equilibration ◽  
Silicon Thin Films ◽  
Conductance Fluctuations ◽  
Non Gaussian ◽  
Noise Statistics ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

AbstractMeasurements of the conductance fluctuations and thermal equilibration of the dark conductivity of a series of undoped hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films synthesized by Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD), with hydrogen contents varying from less than one to twelve atomic percent are reported. The spectral density of the conductance fluctuations varies inversely with frequency f and is dependent upon hydrogen concentration; the 1/f noise statistics are non- Gaussian, indicating correlated fluctuators as is observed in PECVD a-Si:H. These results indicate that aspects of electronic transport and defect dynamics in HWCVD films are similar to those in PECVD a-Si:H films.

Characterization of Amorphous Silicon Thin Films Deposited on Upilex-s Polyimide Substrates for Application in Flexible Solar Cells

2009 ◽  
Vol 87-88 ◽  
pp. 416-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Ge Li ◽  
Dong Xing Du
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Dark Conductivity ◽  
Conductivity Measurements ◽  
Silicon Thin Films ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

Upilex-s [poly(biphenyl dianhydride-p-phenylene diamine)] polyimide have been widely employed in the area of flexible electronics. For its potential application on fabricating flexible solar cells, the optical properties of Upilex-s are measured in this paper. Intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers are then deposited on Upilex-s substrates at temperatures 100°C and 180°C by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. As an comparison, intrinsic a-Si:H layers are also fabricated on glass substrate of Corning2000. Both layers on flexible and rigid substrates are thoroughly characterized by activation energy and dark conductivity measurements. It can be concluded that the intrinsic layer on Upilex-s has favorable properties and could be a competitive candidate as substrate materials of flexible solar cells.

Effect of Nitrogen Doping on the Structure and Optical Properties of N-Type Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Thin Films

2011 ◽  
Vol 383-390 ◽  
pp. 6980-6985
Author(s):  
Mao Yang Wu ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Jun Wei Fu ◽  
Yi Jiao Qiu ◽  
Ya Dong Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Optical Properties ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Photoelectron Spectroscopy ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Silicon Thin Films ◽  
Frequency Plasma ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films doped with both Phosphor and Nitrogen are deposited by ratio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The effect of gas flow rate of ammonia (FrNH3) on the composition, microstructure and optical properties of the films has been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and ellipsometric spectra, respectively. The results show that with the increase of FrNH3, Si-N bonds appear while the short-range order deteriorate in the films. Besides, the optical properties of N-doped n-type a-Si:H thin films can be easily controlled in a PECVD system.

Light Induced Changes in the Non-Gaussian Noise Statistics in Doped Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon

1993 ◽  
Vol 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fan ◽  
J. Kakalios
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Gaussian Noise ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Noise Power ◽  
Defect Creation ◽  
Non Gaussian ◽  
Noise Statistics ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Many Body Interactions ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

The power spectrum of coplanar current fluctuations in n-type doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has been measured before and after metastable defect creation by light soaking. The average magnitude and spectral slope of the 1/f noise are not affected by illumination, however significant changes in the higher order statistics are observed. Associated with the decrease of conductivity upon light soaking (the Staebler-Wronski effect), there is a decrease in the correlation of the noise power which characterize the non-Gaussian noise in the annealed state. These changes in the noise statistics are reversible by annealing. The light-induced changes in the non-Gaussian statistics provide experimental support for models of light induced defect creation which involve long-ranged and many body interactions.

Deposition of High Quality Amorphous Silicon by a New “Hot Wire” CVD Technique

1999 ◽  
Vol 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Morrison ◽  
Ken Coates ◽  
Jianping Xi ◽  
Arun Madan
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Dark Conductivity ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Large Area ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Vapor Deposition Technique ◽  
Photovoltaic Applications ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Silicon Materials

AbstractFor the “Hot Wire” chemical vapor deposition technique (HWCVD) method to be applicable for photovoltaic applications, certain critical technical issues need to be addressed and resolved such as: lifetime of the filaments, reproducibility, large area demonstration of the material and stable devices. We have developed a new approach (patent applied for) which addresses some of these problems, specifically longevity of the filaments and reproducibility of the materials produced. The new filament material used has so far shown no appreciable degradation even after deposition of >200 μm of amorphous silicon (a-Si). We report that this can produce “state-ofthe-art” a-Si with a dark conductivity of <10-10 (Ohm*cm)-1 and photoconductivity of >10-5 (Ohm*cm)-1 this material can also be doped p- or n-type. We also provide data using XRD as well as the Raman spectra. These materials have been incorporated into simple Schottky barrier structures. The development of microcrystalline silicon materials is also discussed.

Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Alloys Prepared by CVD of Higher Silanes

1986 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masud Akhtar ◽  
Herbert A. Weaklie
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Band Gap ◽  
Plasma Deposition ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Wide Band ◽  
Dark Conductivity ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Silicon Alloys ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

ABSTRACTHydrogenated amorphous silicon may be deposited at relatively low temperatures, where the density of defects may be expected to be low, by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of higher silanes. This method is an attractive alternative to plasma deposition techniques. We describe here the preparation of a-Si:H and related alloys incorporating carbon, germanium, and fluorine. a-Si:H films were deposited on heated substrates in the range 365°C-445°C by CVD of Si2H6 and Si3H8. The optical gap (Eg) ranged from 1.4 to 1.7 eV and the properties of films deposited from either Si2 H6 or Si3 H8 were quite similar. Wide band gap (Eg=2 eV) alloys of a-SiC:H doped with boron were prepared by CVD of disilane, methyl silane, and diborane. We also prepared variable band gap a-SiC:H alloys by substituting F2C= CFH for methylsilane, and these films were found to have approximately 1–2% fluorine incorporated. The dark conductivity of the boron doped a-SiC:H alloys dep~sited from either carbon source ranged from ix10-7 to 6x10-7 (ohm-cm)-1. We also prepared low band aap alloys of Si and Ge by CVD of trisilane and germane. The band gap of a film containing 20% Ge was 1.5 eV; however, the photoconductivity of the film was relatively low.

Effect of Ge Incorporation on Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Germanium Thin Films Prepared by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

2012 ◽  
Vol 569 ◽  
pp. 27-30
Author(s):  
Bao Jun Yan ◽  
Lei Zhao ◽  
Ben Ding Zhao ◽  
Jing Wei Chen ◽  
Hong Wei Diao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Vapor Deposition ◽  
Silicon Germanium ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Dark Conductivity ◽  
Amorphous Silicon Germanium ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon germanium thin films (a-SiGe:H) were prepared via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). By adjusting the flow rate of GeH4, a-SiGe:H thin films with narrow bandgap (Eg) were fabricated with high Ge incorporation. It was found that although narrow Eg was obtained, high Ge incorporation resulted in a great reduction of the thin film photosensitivity. This degradation was attributed to the increase of polysilane-(SiH2)n, which indicated a loose and disordered microstructure, in the films by systematically investigating the optical, optoelectronic and microstructure properties of the prepared a-SiGe:H thin films via transmission, photo/dark conductivity, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements. Such investigation provided a helpful guide for further preparing narrow Eg a-SiGe:H materials with good optoelectronic properties.

Deposition of Device Quality Amorphous Silicon by Hot-Wire CVD

1997 ◽  
Vol 467 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. F. Feenstra ◽  
C. H. M. Van Der Werf ◽  
E. C. Molenbroek ◽  
R. E. I. Schropp
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Electrical Properties ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Diffusion Length ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Dark Conductivity ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Tungsten Filaments ◽  
Wire Method ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous

ABSTRACTIn this paper we present the results of the optimization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films deposited by the hot-wire method in a larger area system. Using a two-wire design, we succeeded in depositing films that exhibit uniform electrical properties over the whole 4” x 4” Corning 7059 glass substrate. At a substrate temperature of 430 °C. and a pressure of 20 μbar we obtained a growth rate of ∼2 nm/s. The temperature of the tungsten filaments was kept at 1850 °C. The values for the photoconductivity and dark conductivity were 8.9×10−6 S/cm and 1.6×10−10 S/cm respectively, whereas the ambipolar diffusion length, as measured with the Steady-State Photocarrier Grating technique (SSPG), amounted to 145 nm. This value is higher than for our device quality glow-discharge (GD) films, which yield devices with efficiencies higher than 10%. The hydrogen content was 9.5%.We report on the density-of-states (DOS) distribution in the films, which was measured with the techniques of Thermally Stimulated Conductivity (TSC) and Constant Photocurrent Method (CPM). Furthermore, we describe the behavior of the electrical properties on light-induced degradation. Finally, we incorporated these films in solar cells, using conventional GD doped layers. Preliminary SS/n-i-p/ITO devices yielded efficiencies in excess of 3% under 100 mW/cm2 AM 1.5 illumination. Further work concerning the optimization of the interfaces is in progress.

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