New features of the temperature dependence of photoconductivity in plasma-deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon alloys

Abstract
The temperature and flux dependences of photoconductivity have been investigated for plasma-deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon alloys produced under a variety of processing conditions. In undoped films, new features such as thermal quenching and supralinearity are observed. Such behavior is critically dependent on the position of the Fermi level, and is not observed in alloys doped by the addition to the plasma of PH3, B2H6, O2+N2 mixtures, or air. Interpretation of the data is based on a model of competing recombination centers.