Influence of compression on radiative recombination in a‐Si:H

Photoluminescence (PL) in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) was measured in the range 0‐75kbar, 10‐110K. Whereas the PL indicates is strongly quenched by pressure, the peak position is only weakly shifted to lower energy. This interesting dichotomy indicates that compression affects radiative and non‐radiative processes differently. The quenching is interpreted as evidence for pressure induced structural changes. This discourages a direct connection between pressure shifts in a‐Si:H, and c‐Si.. Simple tunneling cannot explain the pressure dependence of the radiative decay rate.