PHOTOINDUCED STRUCTURAL-CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE STAEBLER-WRONSKI EFFECT IN HYDROGENATED AMORPHOUS-SILICON

The light-induced degradation of the electronic properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and related alloys, discovered by Staebler and Wronski, has been associated with the creation of metastable dangling bond defects. Recent experiments have shown that several light-induced effects are not correlated with the concentration of dangling bond defects. To explain these experiments we propose that photo-induced structural changes occur in these materials in addition to the creation of dangling bond defects.