PULSED-LIGHT-INDUCED ANNEALING OF METASTABLE DEFECTS IN HYDROGENATED AMORPHOUS-SILICON

Annealing of the metastable defects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) under pulsed light illumination is reported. It is found that light pulse increases the rate of annealing compared to annealing in the dark, as observed under continuous wave (cw) light. Annealing under cw light with an intensity similar to pulsed light has also been investigated for comparison. Results show that the rate of annealing under pulsed light is lower than under cw light. These results suggest that the rate of the metastable defect creation and the saturation value of the metastable defect density by pulsed light may be higher than by cw light. © 1995 The American Physical Society.