Thin-film field-effect transistors in hydrogenated amorphous silicon are notoriously unstable due to the formation of silicon dangling bond trapping states in the accumulated channel region during operation. Here, we show that by using a source-gated transistor a major improvement in stability is obtained. This occurs because the electron quasi-Fermi level is pinned near the center of the band ...

Nanocrystalline TiN has been imbedded in amorphous silicon nitride matrix to form a super hard nanocomposite thin film (ncTiNya-SiN ) via magnetron sputtering. Adjusting Ti and Si N target power ratio altered film composition, size, amount and x 3 4 distribution of the nc-TiN phase. At a Ti target power density of 5.5 W cm , the Ti to Si N target power ratio should be greater y2 3 4 than unity ...

Commercial aluminium and stainless steel sheets were used as substrates for thin film silicon solar cell deposition. The influence of elemental contamination and disturbed film growth on solar cell performance and yield were studied. Diffusion during film growth was found to be more pronounced than thermally activated interdiffusion of existing films. Surface irregularities of the substrate are...

We present a new and simple laser-based process to porosify thin film silicon using a pulsed laser. During deposition, we incorporate gas atoms or molecules into the Si thin film. Pulsed laser radiation of wavelength λ = 532 nm heats up thin film Si beyond its melting point. Upon heating, gas atoms or molecules form nm-sized thermally expanding gas bubbles in the silicon melt, until they explos...

Intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films can yield in outstanding electronic surface passivation of crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers as utilized in the HIT (heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer) solar cells. We have studied the correlation between the passivation quality and the interface nature between thin amorphous layers and an underlying c-Si substrate for understanding...

Thin film solar cells benefit significantly from the enhanced light trapping offered by photonic nanostructures. The thin film is typically patterned on one side only due to technological constraints. The ability to independently pattern both sides of the thin film increases the degrees of freedom available to the designer, as different functions can be combined, such as the reduction of surfac...

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Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films have been considered for use in solar cell applications because of their significantly reduced cost compared to crystalline bulk silicon. However, their overall efficiency and stability are lower than that of their bulk crystalline counterpart. Limited work has been performed on simultaneously solving the efficiency and stability issues of a-Si...