Light Induced Metastability in Thin Nanocrystalline Silicon Films

Marius Bauza (1) , N P Mandal (2) , Arman Ahnood (2) , Andrei Sazonov (3) , Arokia Nathan (2)

1 London Center of Nanotechnology
2 London Center of Nanotechnology
3 ECE - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering [Waterloo]

This paper examines the influence of light induced metastability on conduction in thin nc-Si:H films. To investigate the role of surface effects two sample types are considered: one with intentionally oxidised surface to form an oxide cap layer and the other with the oxide layer etched. Both Staebler-Wronski effect (SWE) and persistent photo-current (PPC) have been observed, albeit at different phases of light soaking (LS). For the nc-Si:H sample with cap layer, we attribute the presence of SWE and PPC to defect generation and interface charge trapping, while in the absence of the cap layer, these effects could be caused by unidentified photo-structural changes and defect generation.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

Marius Bauza, N P Mandal, Arman Ahnood, Andrei Sazonov, Arokia Nathan. Light Induced Metastability in Thin Nanocrystalline Silicon Films. Philosophical Magazine, 2009, 89 (28-30), pp.2531-2539. ⟨10.1080/14786430902933845⟩. ⟨hal-00519086⟩