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The Role of Charged Defects In Current Transport Through Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Alloys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

S.P. Lau ,
J.M. Shannon ,
B.J. Sealy  and
J.M. Marshall
S.P. Lau
Affiliation:
School of Electronic Engineering, Information Technology and Mathematics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, United Kingdom
J.M. Shannon
Affiliation:
School of Electronic Engineering, Information Technology and Mathematics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, United Kingdom
B.J. Sealy
Affiliation:
School of Electronic Engineering, Information Technology and Mathematics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, United Kingdom
J.M. Marshall
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Engineering, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Current transport in metal-semiconductor-metal structures based on amorphous silicon alloys has been studied in relation to the density of dangling bond state defects. The density of defects was changed by varying alloy composition or by current stressing. We show that the change of current-voltage characteristics and activation energy with defect density and the onset of Poole-Frenkel conduction with composition require charged defects. It is found that there are more charged defects in amorphous silicon nitride (a-Si1−xNx:H) than in amorphous silicon carbide (a-Si1−xCx:H). In addition, an excess of negatively charged dangling bond defects compared to positively charged dangling bond defects is observed in a-Si1−xNx:H films. This is attributed to the presence of N4+ act as the donor states in silicon nitride. We find that the density of charged dangling bond defects can be higher than 1019cm−3.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 507: Symposium A – Amorphous & Microcrystalline Silicon Technology 1998 , 1998 , 655
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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