Optical and electronic properties of amorphous SiNx:H alloy films

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Abstract
The optical and electronic properties of a-SiNx:H alloy films fabricated by rf glow discharge have been measured for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.6. The material is dispersive over the range of photon energies 0.5 ≤ hv ≤ 3.5 eV. The optical gap is about 1.65 eV and is practically independent of x for 0.1 < x < 0.4, but it increases rapidly with increasing x for 0 < x < 0.1 and x > 0.4. For x > 0.6 the refractive index approaches the value for Si3N4. The dark conductivity, the photoconductivity, and the ratio of the photoconductivity to the dark conductivity are enhanced by nitrogen incorporation when appropriate nitrogen content is used. All the experimental results indicate that the incorporated nitrogen does not act as a dopant, but rather acts as a dangling-bond compensator. Photo-induced changes in both dark conductivity and photoconductivity due to high-intensity optical excitation have been observed. The degree of such changes decreases with increasing nitrogen content. This phenomenon is attributed to the photo-induced change in the microstructure of the films that leads to a change in both the density and the distribution of gap states.

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