RELAXATION OF LIGHT-INDUCED METASTABLE STATE OF BORON-DOPED P-TYPE A-SI-H

Relaxation of the dark conductivity of boron-doped a-Si : H films afte r illumination in the temperature range 360-470 K has been studied. It is shown that the measuring conductivity relaxation after illuminatio n under different conditions (illumination time and temperature) makes it possible to separately investigate relaxation of the concentration of light-induced metastable defects of the ''dangling-bonds'' type an d relaxation of the concentration of metastable states associated with impurity atoms. In both cases the relaxation obeys a stretched-expone ntial law. The main parameters of both relaxations and their temperatu re dependence have been measured. The experimental results can be expl ained within the framework of a model of the annealing activation ener gy distribution for light-induced metastable states. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.