ESR study of the hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon thin films

Abstract We studied the stability and light-induced paramagnetic centers in hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon thin films (nc-Si:H) by electron-spin-resonance (ESR) and photothermal-deflection-spectroscopy (PDS). There is no measurable change in defect density upon illumination with white light with a light intensity of 300 mW cm−2 for 300 h. At low temperatures, upon illumination with sub-bandgap light, a light-induced ESR signal appears. This signal is similar to that in hydrogenated micro-crystalline silicon (μc-Si:H).