Fast light-induced change in ellipsometry spectra of hydrogenated amorphous silicon measured through a transparent substrate upon bias light illumination

ABSTRACTPrevious ellipsometric studies of the stability of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) found reversible changes in the pseudo-dielectric functions. These changes were slow to generate and slow to anneal away. These slow changes are associated with a dangling bond related structural change. Since any light-induced change in the dielectric function is useful for photonic engineering, we undertook the present more detailed study of light induced optical effects in a-Si:H. The optical pseudo-dielectric functions of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) were measured using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and the “through-the-substrate” measurement technique as a function of measurement temperature and bias light illumination. For the first time we report a light-induced change in a-Si:H materials that is fast, bias-light-dependent, reversible, and temperature dependent. This effect, while not completely understood, offers exciting new prospects for photonic engineering.