Transport mechanisms in hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon

Transport properties of microcrystalline (muc-Si/H) and polycrystalline (p- Si) silicon films are analyzed by time resolved microwave conductivity (TRM C), diffusion-induced TRMC (DTRMC), and Hail measurements. The comparison o f carrier mobilities in microcrystalline silicon determined by TRMC as well as DTRMC shows that trapping in the disordered part of these films is not the main limiting parameter for transport in microcrystalline silicon. Besi des, it is demonstrated that TRMC measurements are not sensitive to barrier s between the crystallites. Our measurements reveal that, contrary to the c ase of p-Si, the influence of barriers in muc-Si/H can be neglected. Transp ort in muc-Si/H is consequently mainly limited by defects inside the crysta llites. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.