Study of morphological characteristics of Si:H p-i-n structures deposited by plasma on plastic substrates

In this work we present a study of material substrates and fabrication process effect on morphological characteristics of Si:H films and related p-i-n structures. Measurements of spectral dependence of optical transmittance of plastic substrates in ultraviolet and visible range were performed. AFM measurements were conducted over area of 10 × 10 μm
²
to reveal defects and over area of 2 × 2 μm
²
to determine morphological characteristics of the substrates, substrates coated by Ti and top surface of device structures plastic+Ti+(Si:H p-i-n). Performance of the device structures was characterized by current density-voltage measurements in dark and under AM1.5 illumination. Teflon substrate demonstrated higher transmittance in the UV and visible range in comparison with those for PEN and Kapton. The results of the AFM measurements showed effect of Ti deposition and p-i-n fabrication on the surface morphology for the plastic substrates studied. Finally performance characteristics of the devices fabricated on PEN and Kapton substrates are compared.