A Study on properties of a-Si:H layers by photoelectron spectroscopic

a-Si:H 분광스펙트럼 특성연구

We report on a detailed study on gap-state distribution in thin amorphous silicon layers(a-Si:H) with film thickness between 5 nm and 20 nm c-Si wafers performed by UV excited photoelectron spectroscopy(UV-PES). We measured how the work function, the gap state density, the position of the Fermi-level and the Urbch-energy depend on the layer thickness and the doping level of the ultra thin a-Si:H(n) layer. It was found, that for phosphorous doping the position of the Fermi level saturates at $E_F-E_V$=1.47 eV. This is achieved at a gas phase concentration of 10000 ppm $PH_3$ in the $SiH_4/H_2$ mixture which was used for the PECVD deposition process. The variation of the doping level from 0 to 20000 ppm $PH_3$ addition results in an increase of the Urbach energy from 65 meV to 101 meV and in an increase of the gap state density at midgap($E_i-E_V$=0.86eV) from $3{\times}10^{18}$ to $2{\times}1019cm^{-3}eV^{-1}$.