No abstract

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films have been deposited on Corning 7059 glass and other substrates by the thermal decomposition of disilane in a helium flow. The deposition rate of a-Si:H films in a He atmosphere has been found to be significantly higher than that deposited in a hydrogen atmosphere under the same conditions. The a-Si:H films deposited in a He atmosphere showed improved structural properties as compared with those deposited in a hydrogen atmosphere. The properties of a-Si:H films deposited in a helium atmosphere such as density, photoconductivity, minority-carrier diffusion length, gap-state density, etc., have been determined. These films appear to have better electronic properties than the chemical-vapor-deposited a-Si:H films heretofore reported.