Evolution of grain structures during directional solidification of silicon wafers

Lin, Hong‐Ping; Wu, M.C.; Chen, C.C.; Lan, C.W.

doi:10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2015.12.050

Cited by 27 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…A wavy perturbation is introduced into a planar crystal-melt interface, and the perturbation is amplified and results in zigzag facets. The simulation results and phenomena are consistent with the literature of Takuya [24] and experimental observations [3,[34][35][36]. Through the comparison with the literature and experimental observations, the CA simulation can be validated.…”

Section: Validation Of the Simulation Of Faceted Growth By Casupporting

confidence: 83%

Cellular Automaton Modeling of the Transition of Multi-Crystalline Silicon from a Planar Faceted Front to Equiaxed Growth

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2017

Applied Sciences

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Abstract:A modeling approach combining the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method and the cellular automaton (CA) technique are developed to simulate the faceted front to equiaxed structure transition (FET) of directional solidification of multi-crystalline silicon. The LB method is used for the coupled calculation of velocity, temperature and solute content field, while the CA method is used to compute the nucleation at the silicon-crucible interface and on SiC particles, as well as the mechanism of growth and capturing. For silicon, the interface kinetic coefficient is rather low, which means that the kinetic undercooling can be large. A strong anisotropy in the surface tension and interfacial kinetics are considered in the model. A faceted front in conjunction with a sufficiently high carbon content can lead to equiaxed growth by nucleation on SiC. The temperature gradient in Si melt at the interface is negative, which leads to the occurrence of a faceted interface. The higher the absolute value of thermal gradients, the faster the growth velocity. Due to differences in the degree of undercooling, there will be the unification of facets in front of the solid-liquid interface. Transitions from faceted front to thermal equiaxed dendrites or faceted equiaxed grains are observed with smaller or larger impurity contents, respectively.

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Section: Validation Of the Simulation Of Faceted Growth By Casupporting

confidence: 83%

Cellular Automaton Modeling of the Transition of Multi-Crystalline Silicon from a Planar Faceted Front to Equiaxed Growth

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2017

Applied Sciences

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“…Twinning is a frequently observed and important phenomenon during solidification of multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) used for solar cells. Twinning usually occurs on the (111) facet grooves − and is a major source for the formation of the Σ3 twin boundary. Because the Σ3 twin boundaries are the most electrically inactive CSL (coincidence site lattice) grain boundaries (GBs), and they are often preferred for mc-Si solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible Twinning Operations during Directional Solidification of Multicrystalline Silicon

Jhang

Jain

Lin

et al. 2018

Crystal Growth & Design

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Twinning is an important phenomenon during crystal growth of multicrystalline silicon. During twinning, the nucleated new grain is in twin relation with the parent grain, and the twin relation mathematically could be operated through a transformation matrix (T matrix). We have derived the possible T matrices for twinning on the (111) facets, and some of them have not been well recognized before. As applied to the available electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data, we found that, in addition to the twist Σ3 operation, the well accepted mechanism for twin formation, there are four other possible twinning operations.

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“…However, the repetition of twinning has important consequences for the final grain structure and distribution of crystallographic orientations [31]. Indeed, the importance of twinning in the development of the grain structure has been highlighted for different solidification processes ranging from directional solidification [82] to ribbon growth [33,83,84]. In the past few years, we studied rather extensively twin formation, growth, and its At the level of the edge facets, the measured maximum undercooling is again always lower than 1 K. However, higher values (ranging from 2 × 10 −1 to 8 × 10 −1 K) compared to the undercooling inside grain boundary grooves are measured at the edges.…”

Section: Twinning During Solidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the repetition of twinning has important consequences for the final grain structure and distribution of crystallographic orientations [31]. Indeed, the importance of twinning in the development of the grain structure has been highlighted for different solidification processes ranging from directional solidification [82] to ribbon growth [33,83,84]. In the past few years, we studied rather extensively twin formation, growth, and its consequences on the final grain structure and defect formation in general [44][45][46]48,50,52,85].…”

Section: Twinning During Solidificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

X-ray Based in Situ Investigation of Silicon Growth Mechanism Dynamics—Application to Grain and Defect Formation

et al. 2020

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To control the final grain structure and the density of structural crystalline defects in silicon (Si) ingots is still a main issue for Si used in photovoltaic solar cells. It concerns both innovative and conventional fabrication processes. Due to the dynamic essence of the phenomena and to the coupling of mechanisms at different scales, the post-mortem study of the solidified ingots gives limited results. In the past years, we developed an original system named GaTSBI for Growth at high Temperature observed by Synchrotron Beam Imaging, to investigate in situ the mechanisms involved during solidification. X-ray radiography and X-ray Bragg diffraction imaging (topography) are combined and implemented together with the running of a high temperature (up to 2073 K) solidification furnace. The experiments are conducted at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Both imaging techniques provide in situ and real time information during growth on the morphology and kinetics of the solid/liquid (S/L) interface, as well as on the deformation of the crystal structure and on the dynamics of structural defects including dislocations. Essential features of twinning, grain nucleation, competition, strain building, and dislocations during Si solidification are characterized and allow a deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of its growth.

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Evolution of grain structures during directional solidification of silicon wafers

Cited by 27 publications

References 25 publications

Cellular Automaton Modeling of the Transition of Multi-Crystalline Silicon from a Planar Faceted Front to Equiaxed Growth

Cellular Automaton Modeling of the Transition of Multi-Crystalline Silicon from a Planar Faceted Front to Equiaxed Growth

Possible Twinning Operations during Directional Solidification of Multicrystalline Silicon

X-ray Based in Situ Investigation of Silicon Growth Mechanism Dynamics—Application to Grain and Defect Formation

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