Electron-hole recombination in reactively sputtered amorphous silicon solar cells

The electron-hole recombination has been investigated in reactively sputtered hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-SiHx) metal Schottky barrier solar cell structures. We find that electron-hole recombination proceeds through states in the middle of the gap. These states, whose density depends on the degree of hydrogenation, have been associated with Si dangling bonds and their effective carrier capture cross section was estimated to be 6×10−15 cm2.