Quantitative analysis of hydrogen in glow discharge amorphous silicon

We report measurements of the hydrogen concentrations and densities of amorphous silicon films prepared from glow discharge plasmas of silane. Quantitative results are obtained from the resonant nuclear reaction 15N+1H→12C+4He+γ by counting the emitted γ rays. Mass spectrographic analysis of the gases evolved upon heating are also used to estimate the relative hydrogen concentrations for different preparation conditions. Comparisons are given to previously reported infrared absorption results and to electron microprobe estimates.