OPTICAL, STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL-PROPERTIES OF DEVICE-QUALITY HYDROGENATED AMORPHOUS SILICON-NITROGEN FILMS DEPOSITED BY PLASMA-ENHANCED CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION

High-electronic quality hydrogenated amorphous silicon-nitrogen (a-Si1 -xNx:H) films with an energy gap in the range 1.9-2.7eV have been depo sited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition in silane-ammonia gas mixtures at two different gas residence times and in hydrogen-dilu ted silane-ammonia gas mixtures. Compositional, structural, electrical and optical properties have been investigated. Far the first time the effects of hydrogen dilution of SiH4 + NH3 gas mixtures on the a-Si1- xNx:H network is reported. We have observed that hydrogen dilution dec reases hydrogen incorporation and increases nitrogen incorporation, pr omoting a higher connectivity of the a-Si1-xNx:H network. All films sh ow good electronic properties, comparable with or superior to those of amorphous silicon-carbon films, which are improved in films deposited from hydrogen-diluted gas mixtures.