Electronic properties of chemically deposited polycrystalline silicon

For the systematic understanding of polycrystalline silicon, the conduction mechanisms, optical absorption processes, and recombination kinetics have been investigated. Tailing states as well as deep levels in the energy gap are found in activation energies of photoconductivity, high densities of ESR centers, and optical absorption tails at photon energies below the energy gap. A new model of electronic density-of-states distribution including the influence of the grain boundary has been constructed for the consistent interpretation of the observed characteristics. A substantial difference between the present model and a Schottky barrier model is also discussed.