The Staebler-Wronski Effect in Hydro-Fluorinated Amorphous Silicon Prepared Using the Intermediate Species SiF2

The change in conductivity produced by irradiation with light, the so-called Staebler-Wronski effect (S-W effect), was studied experimentally in a new type of hydro-fluorinated amorphous silicon (s-Si:F:H) prepared from a mixture of the intermediate species SiF2 and gaseous H2. The magnitude of the S-W effect was observed as a function of the light intensity and the Fermi-level position. It was found that the S-W effect in the new a-Si:F:H is much smaller than that in conventional hydrogenated amorphous silicon (s-Si:H) prepared from gaseous SiH4, and that the magnitude of the S-W effect is a function of the substrate temperature during deposition.