Optical dispersion relationships in amorphous silicon grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We have produced a novel form of amorphous silicon (a-Si) using ultra-high-vacuum molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). From measurements of the specular reflectance spectrum at near normal incidence and the regular transmittance spectrum at normal incidence we have determined the spectral dependence of the refractive index, the extinction coefficient, the optical absorption coefficient, and the real and complex components of the dielectric function. These optical dispersion relationships are contrasted with those corresponding to other forms of a-Si. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.