The Staebler-Wronski Effect: New Physical Approaches and Insights as a Route to Reveal its Origin

Abstract

In the recent years more and more theoretical and experimental evidence have been found that the hydrogen bonded to silicon in dense hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) predominantly resides in hydrogenated divacancies. In this contribution we will philosophize about the option that the small fraction of divacancies, missing at least one of its bonded hydrogen, may correspond to some of the native and metastable defect states of a-Si:H. We will discuss that such defect entities are an interesting basis for new and alternative views on the origin of the SWE.