Voids in hydrogenated amorphous silicon materials

Effusion measurements of hydrogen and of implanted helium are used to characterize the presence of voids in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) materials as a function of substrate temperature, hydrogen content, etc. For undoped plasma-grown a-Si:H, interconnected voids are found to prevail at hydrogen concentrations exceeding 15–20 at.%, while isolated voids which act as helium traps appear at hydrogen concentrations ≤ 15 at.%. The concentration of such isolated voids is estimated to some 1018/cm3 for device-grade undoped a-Si:H deposited at a substrate temperature near 200 °C. Higher values are found for, e.g., doped material, hot wire grown a-Si:H and hydrogen-implanted crystalline Si. The results do not support recent suggestions of predominant incorporation of hydrogen in a-Si:H in (crystalline silicon type) divacancies, since such models predict a concentration of voids (which act as helium traps) in the range of 1021/cm3 and a correlation between void and hydrogen concentrations which is not observed.

► Cavities incorporating Si–H bonds in device-grade plasma-grown a-Si:H are smaller than divacancies.
► Voids trapping helium are < 1019/cm3 for device-grade a-Si:H.
► High void concentrations are found for doped material, hot wire material and H implanted crystalline Si.