SEMICONDUCTING AMORPHOUS-CARBON FILMS AND CARBON-SINGLE-CRYSTAL SILICON HETEROJUNCTIONS

Recent studies have shown good potential for evaporated carbon films in memory and switching devices. This trend can be attributed to the behaviour of carbon films as amorphous semiconductors. Experiments were carried out to study the electron diffraction patterns of the films as well as the variation of the electrical conductivity with temperature. The results clearly prove the amorphous nature of carbon films. Heterojunctions were prepared by depositing carbon onto single-crystal silicon. These heterojunctions showed a photovoltaic output of about 280 mV (under Air Mass 1 conditions) and a rectification ratio of the order of hundreds. © 1979.