Amorphous silicon photonics devices
State of the art good quality a-Si:H can be deposited by Pressure Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD).
This technique has reached a stable maturity and quality, due to the large investment directed to mass production of a-Si:H solar cells and thin film transistor for active matrix flat panel displays.
The amorphous phase of silicon has been intensively studied during the last decade of the XX century and it is well known that the electronic and optical properties of the films are strongly influenced by deposition technique and conditions. The physical properties of amorphous silicon are reviewed and correlated with the possibility of using this material in new applicative contexts.
Photonic waveguides, biomedical proteomic sensor devices, plasmonic devices, integration with metal nanoparticles and graphene are presented as a possible reinvention of amorphous silicon for novel optoelectronics applications.
