OPTICAL AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF HYDROGENATED MICROCRYSTALLINE SILICON FILMS

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) is a promising material for photovoltaic applications, even if its full potential is still under investigation, due to the relatively poor knowledge of the correlations between growth conditions, microstructure and physical properties. This paper aims at to demonstrate some results relevant to the optical and electrical characterization of μc-Si:H grown by low-energy plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (LEPECVD). The electrical properties were investigated by sub-micron resolution maps obtained by conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), while the optical properties were investigated by surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS). These results will contribute to the knowledge of the transport mechanisms and optical properties of this material.