Photoelectric phenomena and metastable states in amorphous semiconductors

Members of the group:

• A.G. Kazanskii
  
• I.A. Kurova
  
• N.N. Ormont
  

Research activity

The research is mainly devoted to the problems of generation, recombination and trapping of nonequilibrium carriers in amorphous hydrogenated semiconductors (a-Si:H, a-Ge:H, a-SiGe:H) and generation and relaxation of metastable states in these materials.
Systematic studies of conductivity, photoconductivity and optical absorption in doped and undoped a-Si:H enable to understand the main recombination mechanisms of nonequilibrium carriers in a-Si:H and the influence of the temperature and doping on these processes, including thermal quenching of photoconductivity.
Light-induced metastable states in undoped, doped and compensated a-Si:H films were studied in a wide temperature range. The experiments have shown that impurities, defect-impurity complexes and hydrogen determine the temperature-dependent light-induced processes, which take place in a-Si:H.

Selected publications:

• I.A. Kurova and D.A. Mochalova. Metastable states in boron-doped a-Si:H films. Sov. Phys. Semiconductors 24, 193 (1990).

• A.G. Kazanskii. Staebler-Wronski effect in phosphorous-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Sov. Phys. Semiconductors 24, 915 (1990).

• A.G. Kazanskii, I.V. Klimashin and S.V. Kuznetsov. Characteristics of the temperature dependence of the photoconductivity of a-Si:H, doped lightly with boron. Sov. Phys. Semiconductors 24, 1016 (1990).

• I.P. Zvyagin, I.A. Kurova, N.V. Meleshko and N.N. Ormont. The mechanisms of formation of photoinduced defects in undoped a-Si:H films. Sov. Phys. Semiconductors 24, 1078 (1990).

• I.P. Zvyagin, I.A. Kurova, N.V. Meleshko and N.N. Ormont. Saturation of the photoconductivity and characteristics of annihilation of photostimulated defects in undoped a-Si:H. Sov. Phys. Semiconductors 24, 1238 (1990).

• A.G. Kazanskii and S.V. Kuznetsov. Temperature dependence of the photoconductivity in p-type a-Si:H. Phys. Status Solidi (b) 168, K19 (1991).

• A.G. Kazanskii. Staebler-Wronski effect in amorphous hydrogenated p-type silicon films. Moscow University Physics Bulletin 47, 65 (1992).

• I.P. Zvyagin, I.A. Kurova and N.N. Ormont. On the nature of photo-induced defects and recombination mechanisms in light-soaked a-Si:H films. J.Non-Cryst.Solids 164-166, 631 (1993).

• I.P. Zvyagin, I.A. Kurova and N.N. Ormont. Nature of photoinduced defects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Semiconductors 27, 942 (1993).

• A.G. Kazanskii and D.G. Yarkin. Influence of the dopant concentration and temperature on the Staebler-Wronski effect in phosphorus-doped a-Si:H films. Semiconductors 27, 935 (1993).

• I.A. Kurova, A.N. Lupacheva, N.V. Meleshko, N.N. Ormont and L.P. Avakyants. Electrical properties of a-Si:H(B) films subjected to intense light pulses. Semiconductors 28, 72 (1994).

• I.A. Kurova, A.N. Lupacheva, N.V. Meleshko and E.V. Larina. Effect of annealing on the photoelectric properties of boron-doped a-Si:H films. Semiconductors 28, 628 (1994).

• A.G. Kazanskii, Mao Yi and Kong Guanglin. On the dangling-bond relaxation problem in hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Solid State Communication 91, 447 (1994).

• I.A. Kurova, O.N. Miroshnik and N.N. Ormont. Effect of high-temperature annealing on the electrical and photoelectric properties of compensated a-Si:H films containing boron and fluorine. Semiconductors 30, 391 (1996).

• A.G. Kazanskii, I.A. Kurova, I.P. Zvyagin and D.G. Yarkin. Non-monotone kinetics of persistent photoconductivity in compensated a-Si:H films. J.Non-Cryst.Solids 198-200, 470 (1996).