Dispersive model for the kinetics of light-induced defects ina-Si:H

Abstract

The kinetics of light-induced defect generation (Stabler-Wronski effect) in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) was investigated for a wide range of illumination intensities and temperatures. A model is proposed to account for the kinetics of defect generation, based on the interconversion of silicon weak bonds with an exponential distribution of binding energies into dangling bonds. Illumination increases the defect density by reducing the energy barrier for defect formation and the defect formation energy. The model reproduces the observed time evolution of the defect density and establishes a connection between the Stabler-Wronski effect and the weak-bound model.