Optical Absorption in Si:H Thin Films: Revisiting the Role of the Refractive Index and the Absorption Coefficient

This paper reports on absorption properties of thin films of hydrogenated amorphous and microcrystalline silicon considered for absorption-based applications, such as solar cell, photodetectors, filters, sensors, etc. A series of four amorphous and four microcrystalline samples PECVD deposited under varied hydrogen dilution was under consideration. Various absorption metrics, based separately on the absorption coefficient and the refractive index (single pass absorption, optical path length, classical light trapping limit) or direct absorptance calculated by the Yablonovitch concept based on a mutual role of them were examined and compared. Differences in absorption abilities are related to the evolving thin film microstructure.