Mixed phase of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon-hydrogen alloys has been fabricated by reactive sputtering in He containing H
2 of which mole fraction is less than about 5 mole%. The degree of the crystallization, evaluated by electron microscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy, becomes high as the amount of H
2 in the atmosphere increases. The conductivity in dark and photoconductivity increase as the partial pressure of H
2 increases (from 0 to 1 mole%) and also as the pressure during sputtering increases. This increase in conductivity and photoconductivity is supposed to be related to the development of microcrystals. The highest photoconductivity is observed at the H
2 mole fraction of about 1 mole%. This film contains a small amount of microcrystals and show the photoconductivity higher by 2 orders of magnitude than that in a film sputter-deposited in Ar and H
2 atmosphere in the same apparatus.
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