Structural and electronic properties of optimized a-Si:H films

Intrinsic a-Si:H films grown using optimized larger hydrogen dilution conditions have been studied. Capacitance measurements show a decrease in defect density with increasing film thickness. For films with thickness of 1.3 μm transient photocapacitance data indicate electronic transitions due to microcrystallites embedded in an amorphous matrix. Atomic force microscopy measurements enable us to identify crystallites at the film surface, while Kelvin probe force microscopy is used to measure their electronic properties. The correlation between the structural and electronic properties is discussed.