Properties of Hydrogenated Amorphous Si-N Prepared by Various Methods

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Abstract
The results of optical absorption, infrared absorption, electron spin resonance and photoluminescence measurements are presented for hydrogenated amorphous Si-N films prepared by three different methods; magnetron sputtering of an Si target in an Ar+N2+H2 gas mixture, glow-discharge decomposition of SiH4+N2, and glow-discharge decomposition of SiH4+NH3. The improvement in the properties of films prepared by the third method, e.g., the sharp band tail and low dangling-bond density, is explained mainly in terms of the structual softening due to the existence of N-H bonds. The fatigue of the photoluminescence due to illumination is found to be more prominent and the recovery due to annealing less prominent in N-incorporated film than in a-Si:H.