Abstract
The photolysis of silane (SiH4) was carried out using the third harmonic of a Nd: YAG laser at 355 nm, at
a fixed SiH4 pressure of 350 Torr, varying the laser energy fluence in the range of 30–300 Jcm-2. The emission spectra indicates that the photofragments formed are SiH2, SiH, Si, H2, and H. The (A1B1-X1A1) transitions at 552.7 nm, 525.3 nm, 505.6 nm, and 484.7 nm of SiH2 are due to a two photon absorption process. The
(A2Δ-X2π) transitions of SiH at 425.9 nm, 418 nm, 414.2 nm, 412.8 nm and 395.6 nm are due to a three photon
absorption process. The brownish white deposit on the cell windows indicates the presence of amorphous
silicon (a:Si-H). The two atomic lines of Si(4s1P0