SHORT-RANGE ORDER, MICROSTRUCTURE AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH LIGHT-INDUCED DEGRADATION IN HYDROGENATED AMORPHOUS-SILICON DEPOSITED AT HIGH GROWTH-RATES BY CATHODE HEATING TECHNIQUE

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films were deposited at high growth rates by increasing the rf power density in a (SiH4+H-2) discharge, while powder formation due to gas phase polymerization was controlled by heating the cathode together with the anode. A combination of Raman scattering, infrared absorption, and small angle x-ray scattering experiments was used to study the short-range order and microstructure of films deposited in different (dusty or otherwise) plasma conditions. The results were correlated with initial and light-soaked photoresponse to demonstrate that films with more microstructure and less short-range order were generally poorer.