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Determination of the Mobile-Hydrogen Charge State in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Brent P. Nelsona ,
Yueqin Xu ,
Robert C. Reedy ,
Richard S. Crandall ,
A. Harv Mahan  and
Howard M. Branz
Brent P. Nelsona
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA
Yueqin Xu
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA
Robert C. Reedy
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA
Richard S. Crandall
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA
A. Harv Mahan
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA
Howard M. Branz
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA
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Abstract

We find that hydrogen diffuses as H+, H0, or H- in hydrogenated amorphous silicon depending on its location within the i-layer of a p-i-n device. We annealed a set of five p-i-n devices, each with a thin deuterium-doped layer at a different location in the i-layer, and observed the D-diffusion using secondary ionmass spectrometry (SIMS). When H-diffuses in a charged state, electric fields in the device strongly influence the direction and distance of diffusion. When D is incorporated into a device near the p-layer, almost all of the D-diffusion occurs as D+, and when the D is incorporated near the n-layer, most of the D-diffusion occurs as D-. We correlate the preferential direction of D-motion at given depth within the i-layer, with the local Fermi level (as calculated by solar cell simulations), to empirically determine an effective correlation energy for mobile-H electronic transitions of 0.39 ± 0.1 eV. Using this procedure, the best fit to the data produces a disorder broadening of the transition levels of ∼0.25 eV. The midpoint between the H0/+ and the H0/- transition levels is ∼0.20 ± 0.05 eV above midgap.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 664: Symposium A – Amorphous and Heterogeneous Silicon-Based Films-2001 , 2001 , A28.2
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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References

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