Electronic Properties of RF Glow Discharge Intrinsic Microcrystalline Silicon near the Amorphous Silicon Phase Boundary

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe electronic properties of microcrystalline silicon have been characterized for the first time using transient photocapacitance spectroscopy (TPC) and drive-level capacitance profiling (DLCP). These methods were applied to microcrystalline films deposited by the RF glow discharge method at United Solar. The DLCP method allowed the shallow doping density to be profiled and the deep defect densities to be estimated. The TPC spectra were found to reveal that both a microcrystalline as well as an amorphous component are present in these samples. By varying the measurement temperature for these TPC spectra we were also able to directly monitor the degree of minority carrier collection in these films. Significant effects due to light soaking on the TPC spectral properties were also observed.