2-WAY PHOTOCURRENT-MULTIPLICATION IN AMORPHOUS-SILICON CARBIDE CELLS

A photocurrent multiplication for both polarities of an applied electric field (two-way) has been demonstrated in simple amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) cells of SnO2/a-SiC:H/Au. A model of the electron tunneling through the Schottky barriers formed at the interfaces of SnO2/a-SiC:H and Au/a-SiC:H has been proposed as a mechanism of the photocurrent multiplication. This is consistent with the dependence of the cell properties on the phosphorus doping to a-SiC:H films and on other parameters of light wavelength and temperature.