Characterization of n-type Mono-crystalline Silicon Ingots Produced by Continuous Czochralski (Cz) Technology

Han, Xu

doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.095

Cited by 23 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…They have, particularly, a higher "as grown" lifetime, lesser sensitivity to metallic contaminations, and negligible light induced degradation. 12,13 However, the oxygen concentration is high (!5 Â 10 17 cm À3 ) in Czochralski-grown silicon, and some Czand C-Cz-Si materials grown for solar applications contain rather high (>2 Â 10 16 cm À3 ) concentration of carbon atoms. As hydrogen is frequently encountered in the silicon solar materials either by deliberate introduction or as a result of wafer processing, the likelihood of the formation of the C-O-H complexes is quite significant in n-type Cz-Si and C-Cz-Si, thereby making the solar cells from these materials more susceptible to an efficiency decrease if the C-O-H reaction can progress and the complex retained in the finished product.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifetime degradation of n-type Czochralski silicon after hydrogenation

Vaqueiro-Contreras

Markevich

Mullins

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Physics

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Hydrogen plays an important role in the passivation of interface states in silicon-based metal-oxide semiconductor technologies and passivation of surface and interface states in solar silicon. We have shown recently [Vaqueiro-Contreras et al., Phys. Status Solidi RRL 11, 1700133 (2017)] that hydrogenation of n-type silicon slices containing relatively large concentrations of carbon and oxygen impurity atoms {[C s ] ! 1 Â 10 16 cm À3 and [O i ] ! 10 17 cm À3 } can produce a family of C-O-H defects, which act as powerful recombination centres reducing the minority carrier lifetime. In this work, evidence of the silicon's lifetime deterioration after hydrogen injection from SiN x coating, which is widely used in solar cell manufacturing, has been obtained from microwave photoconductance decay measurements. We have characterised the hydrogenation induced deep level defects in n-type Czochralski-grown Si samples through a series of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), minority carrier transient spectroscopy (MCTS), and high-resolution Laplace DLTS/MCTS measurements. It has been found that along with the hydrogen-related hole traps, H 1 and H 2 , in the lower half of the gap reported by us previously, hydrogenation gives rise to two electron traps, E 1 and E 2 , in the upper half of the gap. The activation energies for electron emission from the E 1 and E 2 trap levels have been determined as 0.12, and 0.14 eV, respectively. We argue that the E 1 /H 1 and E 2 /H 2 pairs of electron/hole traps are related to two energy levels of two complexes, each incorporating carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms. Our results show that the detrimental effect of the C-O-H defects on the minority carrier lifetime in n-type Si:O þ C materials can be very significant, and the carbon concentration in Czochralski-grown silicon is a key parameter in the formation of the recombination centers. V

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifetime degradation of n-type Czochralski silicon after hydrogenation

Vaqueiro-Contreras

Markevich

Mullins

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…The CCZ method, originally designed for silicon growth to extend crystal length in a single run, encounters limitations in its broader application due to technical and material challenges that hinder achieving high yields. [ 24 ] The CCZ technology has successfully addressed the deficiencies of traditional CZ methods, specifically addressing issues such as low ingot output per crucible and significant axial variations in resistivity and interstitial oxygen levels throughout the ingot. These challenges have been recognized as key contributors to the high cost of wafers.…”

Section: Si Ingot Growth Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

A Critical Review of The Process and Challenges of Silicon Crystal Growth for Photovoltaic Applications

Sekar,

Thamotharan,

Manickam

et al. 2023

Cryst. Res. Technol.

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Crystalline silicon (c‐Si) solar cells have been accepted as the only environmentally and economically acceptable alternative source to fossil fuels. The majority of commercially available solar cells of all Photovoltaic (PV) cells produced worldwide, are made of crystalline silicon. Due to their excellent price/performance ratio and their demonstrated ecological durability, crystalline silicon wafers are by far the most common absorber material used in the production of solar cells and modules today. These wafers are primarily made using either a directional solidification that produces large‐grained multi‐crystalline (mc‐Si) wafers with a greater defect density or a solar‐optimized Czochralski (Cz) growing method that produces crystalline silicon with low defect density (c‐Si). The grown crystalline wafer contains foreign atoms that enhance the wire saw damage, reduce the minority carrier lifetime as a result get the minimum conversion efficiency of the solar cells. The current review illustrates how the elements of the furnace system affect impurity production and distribution of the developed silicon ingot and how the growth process affects the chemical reaction. Additionally, it covers the outcomes of simulations and experiments conducted on the growing process of c‐Si and mc‐Si ingots and recommends the most appropriate processing parameters, geometrical system, and argon gas flow rate.

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“…In this work, we focus on n‐type Czochralski (Cz) Si materials grown by conventional and the newer less expensive continuous Czochralski (C‐Cz) techniques . These types of materials are starting to be used in the solar industry for high efficiency products potentially replacing multi‐crystalline p‐type material, at least in part because n‐type Cz and C‐Cz silicon when compared to p‐type silicon has a higher “as grown” lifetime, lesser vulnerability to metallic contamination effects and little light induced degradation .…”

Section: Experimental and Modeling Detailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Powerful recombination centers resulting from reactions of hydrogen with carbon–oxygen defects in n‐type Czochralski‐grown silicon

Vaqueiro-Contreras

Markevich

Halsall

et al. 2017

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

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It has been acknowledged for over 50 years that treatments with hydrogen can improve silicon semiconductor devices. In recent years, these have been used to an advantage in silicon solar cells reducing the loss of photo‐generated carriers at the silicon surface or at the silicon interface with dielectrics. However, we have found that in some types of silicon the in‐diffusion of hydrogen can result in the formation of powerful recombination centers composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen which reduce the carrier lifetime and ultimately the efficiency of solar cells made from such material.

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Characterization of n-type Mono-crystalline Silicon Ingots Produced by Continuous Czochralski (Cz) Technology

Cited by 23 publications

References 1 publication

Lifetime degradation of n-type Czochralski silicon after hydrogenation

Lifetime degradation of n-type Czochralski silicon after hydrogenation

A Critical Review of The Process and Challenges of Silicon Crystal Growth for Photovoltaic Applications

Powerful recombination centers resulting from reactions of hydrogen with carbon–oxygen defects in n‐type Czochralski‐grown silicon

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