Formation of pin holes in hydrogenated amorphous silicon at high temperatures and the yield strength of a-Si:H.

Abstract

The formation of holes in sputtered hydrogenated amorphous silicon films after isochronal annealing has been investigated. The holes are caused by the breaking of hydrogen‐containing bubbles formed at the film‐substrate interface as hydrogen diffuses from the film. The diameter of the holes is dependent on the film thickness, and the number of holes depends linearly on the initial hydrogen concentration. These simple relationships are used to derive the yield strength of a‐Si:H to be about 1.3×10⁹ dyn/cm².