Photoconductivity of evaporated amorphous silicon films post-hydrogenated in a theta-pinch plasma

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Abstract
Evaporated amorphous silicon films treated in a theta-pinch hydrogen plasma (hereafter TPH films) show good photoconductivity. The Staebler-Wronski instability is absent in such films. The dark conductivity and photoconductivity are measured. The dependence of photoconductivity on temperature and on intensity of light illumination has been investigated. From the analysis it is found that from 373 K down to liquid-nitrogen temperature mainly two kinds of recombination mechanisms are responsible for photoconductivity in TPH films. The recombination kinetics associated with an activation energy of 0.28±0.01 eV is of second order and that with an activation energy of 0.08±0.01 eV is of first order. The wavelength dependence of the photocurrent gives an estimated optical gap of 1.6-1.7 eV for TPH films.