Metastability effects in hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon thin films investigated by the dual beam photoconductivity method

Abstract Metastability effects in microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) thin films have been investigated using dark conductivity, σD, photoconductivity, σph, and sub-bandgap absorption methods. Nitrogen and inert gasses can cause reversible aging effect in conductivities but not in the sub-bandgap absorption. However, DI water and O2 gas treatment result in both reversible and nonreversible effects in conductivities as well as in the sub-bandgap absorption. Only oxygen affected the dark conductivity reversibly in amorphous silicon, a-Si:H, films, other results were unaffected from the aging and annealing processes applied.