Control of dihydride bond density in reactive sputtered amorphous silicon

Data are presented which demonstrate how the dihydride bonding density in hydrogenated amorphous silicon produced by reactive rf sputtering may be controlled through variation of the rf sputtering power. It is suggested that as the power is increased, the temperature of the ions and neutral atoms above the substrate surface increases until particles incident on the surface have enough energy to prevent or destroy the dihydride bonding configuration. Conductivity data are also presented which show a decrease in dark conductivity and photoconductivity as dihydride bond density is increased. It is concluded that the dihydride bonding reduces carrier mobility