Applied Nanophotonics, Liquid Crystals and Biomedical Optics

Raman scattering experiments were performed on a-Si:H and a-Si:F samples which had the same electron spin density and dark conductivity. It was found that the a-Si:F had a wider Raman spectrum than a-Si:H. This implies that there is a narrower bond angle distribution in the a-Si:H sample. This is consistent with the hypothesis that in addition to satisfying dangling bonds in a-Si, H also relieves strain in the sample. This proposition was reinforced by the widening of the Raman spectra of a-Si:H samples taken after H evolution.