Annealing Studies on Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon-Tin Films

Hydrogenated amorphous Si-Sn (a-Si1-x Sn x :H) films were prepared by radio-frequency sputtering of the planarmagnetron type, and optical absorption, infrared absorption, Raman scattering, electron spin resonance and conductivity measurements were carried out on these films. Annealing experiments revealed that the a-Si1-x Sn x :H films had a low crystallization temperature, a low evolution temperature of H atoms and a low degradation temperature for the photoconductivity, compared with a-Si:H films. The incorporation of N into these films was found to improve the thermat stability without a large increase in the optical gap, although it decreased the photoconductivity.