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A Critical Test of Defect Creation Models in Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Alloys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2011

Kimon C. Palinginis
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, U.S.A
Jeffrey C. Yang
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corporation, 1100 W. Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A
S. Guha
Affiliation:
United Solar Systems Corporation, 1100 W. Maple Road, Troy, MI 48084, U.S.A
J. David Cohen
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, U.S.A
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Abstract

Using the modulated photocurrent method we studied the deep defect creation and annealing kinetics of amorphous silicon-germanium alloys with Ge fractions below 10at.%. The modulated photocurrent spectroscopy clearly discloses the existence of two distinct bands of majority carrier traps in these alloys. The bands were identified as neutral Si dangling bonds and neutral Ge dangling bonds. Our studies show clearly that the Si and Ge defects directly compete with each other during annealing, implying a global reconfiguration mechanism. The creation kinetics reveal the usual t1/3 illumination time dependence for the total deep defect density. However, the individual densities of Si and Ge defects have different time dependencies. The details of the creation and annealing kinetics of Ge and Si defects are used to test predictions of certain defect creation models.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

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References

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