Fast Degradation with Pulsed Light of a-Si:H P-I-N Photodiodes

Amorphous Silicon p-i-n photodiodes were obtained by PECVD in a reactor with a rotating substrate holder. Reverse currents as low as 5 × 10−11 A/cm2 at a bias of −2 V were measured using a guard ring electrode to minimize lateral edge currents. The devices were degraded by a Xenon flash lamp in open circuit conditions. The kinetics of the degradation process was evaluated by studying the long time dark current transient under reverse bias.