Study of Photocarriers Lifetime Distribution in a‐Si:H via Magneto‐photoconductivity and Magneto‐Photoluminescence

Abstract Herein, the magneto‐photoluminescence (MPL) of localized photocarriers and magneto‐photoconductivity (MPC) of delocalized photocarriers in amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a‐Si:H) films and devices, respectively, are investigated. Both responses are caused by mixing of spin sublevels in the photogenerated electron–hole (e–h) pairs that alters their recombination and dissociation rates. The spin mixing occurs by a combination of hyperfine interaction (HFI) between spin ½ photocarriers and neighboring ²⁹Si and ¹H nuclei, and the Δg mechanism which originates from a difference in the Landé g‐factors of electrons and holes. The existing disorder in a‐Si:H films leads to dispersive field response that is described by a unique dispersive parameter α < 1, from which the e–h lifetime distribution, g(τ) is obtained. The mean e–h lifetime is found to be ≈12 ns for the high‐energy, relatively delocalized photocarriers generating the photocurrent, as compared to ≈200 ps for the lower energy, trapped e–h pairs which yield photoluminescence. The MPL(B) and MPC(B) responses in a‐Si:H subjected to prolonged illumination that causes Staebler–Wronski type degradation, and subsequent annealing are studied. The illumination‐induced photocarrier localization that enhances the HFI component is found, which dramatically decreases upon annealing; this method can assess optoelectronic device degradation.