A-Si

Very-high-frequency Glow Discharge (VHF-GD) is a high-rate deposition method for amorphous silicon based on the use of plasma excitation frequencies in the range 30 - 150 MHz; thereby the high-energy tail of the electron energy density function is enhanced, increasing the deposition rate R, without a corresponding increase in electric field and ion bombardment. Here, an extensive set of optoelectronic properties (σdark, Εa, σph, CPM, PDS, TOF, SSPG, Steady-State Hecht plot) are presented for samples prepared by VHF-GD for above frequency range and R ∼ 12-15 A/s. Emphasized are hole transport properties. VHF-GD is judged to be adequate for solar-cell applications