Current Photovoltaic Research ISSN:2288-3274(Print) 2508-125X(Online)

We investigated the growth mechanism of amorphous‐phase Si thin films in order to improve the film characteristics and circumvent photo‐degradation effects by implementation of hot‐wire chemical vapor deposition. Amorphous silicon thin films grown in a silane/hydrogen mixture can be decomposed by a resistive heat filament. The structural properties were observed by Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. The electrical properties of the films were measured by photo‐conductivity, dark‐conductivity, and photo‐sensitivity. The contents of Si‐H and Si‐Hn bonds were measured to be 19.79 and 9.96% respectively, at a hydrogen flow rate of 5.5 sccm, respectively. The thin film has photo‐sensitivity of 2.2×10⁵ without a crystalline volume fraction. The catalyst behavior of the hot‐wire to decompose the chemical precursors by an electron tunneling effect depends strongly on the hydrogen mixture rate and an amorphous Si thin film is formed from atomic relaxation.