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Equilibrium Between Charge Carriers, Charged Centers, and Dangling Bonds in Amorphous Silicon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

C. Fortmann*
Affiliation:
Solarex Corporation, Thin Film Division, 826 Newtown-Yardley Road, Newtown, PA 18940
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Abstract

The recombination rate dependence of the high temperature saturated dangling bond density is explored. Solar cell RBA (reverse bias anneal) and FBA (forward bias anneal) are studied as a function of temperature and bias voltage. The defects that are responsible for the SWE (Staebler-Wronski effect)[1] are shown also to be related to the RBA and FBA effects. At annealing temperatures greater than 150°C, forward bias increases the density of dangling bonds in the i-layer, while reverse bias decreases the density. The temperature dependence of FBA and RBA are investigated. The density of dangling bonds was found not to be a function of cooling rate when bias is maintained during cooling. The dangling bond density is proportional to the square root of the recombination rate, rather than the linear relationship predicted by simple kinetic models. The results are more consistent with a equilibrium description of the SWE.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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