Counteraction of semiconductor impurity effects

摘要

Method of counteracting the effects of undesired contaminants in an amorphous semiconductor, and the resulting semiconductor product. An overcompensating agent is incorporated in the semiconductor in a restricted or limited region which is less than the entirety of the semiconductor body. The semiconductor is desirably of amorphous silicon. The undesired contaminant is a p acceptor and the compensating dopant is an n donor. Alternatively, the undesired contaminant can be an n donor and the compensating dopant can be a p acceptor. Typical p acceptors are residual boron and typical n donors are phosphorous. The compensation takes place over the range from about 1 to about 25% of the maximum thickness of the region of compensation. The compensating dopant is present in a limited amount ranging from about 1 part to about 50 parts per million.