22.09.2015 Views

Measurements

Electron Spin Resonance and Transient Photocurrent ... - JuSER

Electron Spin Resonance and Transient Photocurrent ... - JuSER

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS
  • No tags were found...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

Abstract<br />

The electronic properties of microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H) films have been<br />

studied using electron spin resonance (ESR), transient photocurrent time-of-flight<br />

(TOF) techniques, and electrical conductivity measurements. Structural properties<br />

were determined by Raman spectroscopy. A wide range of structure compositions,<br />

from highly crystalline films with no discernable amorphous content, to<br />

predominantly amorphous films with no crystalline phase contributions, was investigated.<br />

Models and possible explanations concerning the nature and energetic<br />

distribution of electronic defects as a function of film composition are discussed.<br />

It is shown that the spin density N S in µc-Si:H films is linked strongly to the<br />

structure composition of the material. The highest N S is always found for material<br />

with the highest crystalline volume fraction. With increasing amorphous content,<br />

N S decreases, which is attributed to increasing hydrogen content and improved<br />

termination of dangling bonds. Moreover, the amorphous phase content, incorporated<br />

between the crystalline columns, appears to act as a passivation layer,<br />

leading to more effective termination of unsatisfied bonds at the column boundaries.<br />

Both reversible and irreversible changes in the ESR signal and dark conductivity<br />

due to atmospheric effects are found in µc-Si:H. These are closely connected to<br />

the structure composition, in particular the active surface area. The porous structure<br />

of highly crystalline material facilitates in-diffusion of atmospheric gases,<br />

which strongly affects the character and/or density of surface states. Two contributing<br />

processes have been identified, namely adsorption and oxidation. Both<br />

processes lead to an increase of N S . In the case of adsorption the increase is<br />

identified as arising from changes of the db2 resonance (g=2.0052), while the intensity<br />

of the db1 resonance (g=2.0043) remains constant. With increasing amorphous<br />

content the magnitude of both adsorption and oxidation induced changes<br />

decreases, which may be linked to the greater compactness of such films.<br />

<strong>Measurements</strong> on n-type µc-Si:H films were used as a probe of the density of<br />

gap states, confirming that the spin density N S is related to the density of defects.<br />

The results confirm that for a wide range of structural compositions, the doping<br />

induced Fermi level shift in µc-Si:H is governed by compensation of defect states,<br />

v

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!