Infrared birefringence imaging of residual stress and bulk defects in multicrystalline silicon

Ganapati, Vidya; Schoenfelder, Stephan; Castellanos, Sergio; Oener, Sebastian Z.; Buonassisi, Tonio

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2010.5614228

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Ganapati et al . and Sarau et al . suggested that dislocations are formed in mc‐Si in order to relieve thermally induced residual stresses during crystal growth, especially at triple points where the thermal stresses are known to be quite high.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Grain boundary segregation in multicrystalline silicon: correlative characterization by EBSD, EBIC, and atom probe tomography

Stoffers

Cojocaru‐Mirédin

Seifert

et al. 2015

Progress in Photovoltaics

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This study aims to better understand the influence of crystallographic structure and impurity decoration on the recombination activity at grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon. A sample of the upper part of a multicrystalline silicon ingot with intentional addition of iron and copper has been investigated. Correlative electron-beam-induced current, electron backscatter diffraction, and atom probe tomography data for different types of grain boundaries are presented. For a symmetric coherent Σ3 twin boundary, with very low recombination activity, no impurities are detected. In case of a noncoherent (random) high-angle grain boundary and higher order twins with pronounced recombination activity, carbon and oxygen impurities are observed to decorate the interface. Copper contamination is detected for the boundary with the highest recombination activity in this study, a random high-angle grain boundary located in the vicinity of a triple junction. The 3D atom probe tomography study presented here is the first direct atomic scale identification and quantification of impurities decorating grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon. The observed deviations in chemical decoration and induced current could be directly linked with different crystallographic structures of silicon grain boundaries. Hence, the current work establishes a direct correlation between grain boundary structure, atomic scale segregation information, and electrical activity. It can help to identify interface-property relationships for silicon interfaces that enable grain boundary engineering in multicrystalline silicon.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Grain boundary segregation in multicrystalline silicon: correlative characterization by EBSD, EBIC, and atom probe tomography

Stoffers

Cojocaru‐Mirédin

Seifert

et al. 2015

Progress in Photovoltaics

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“…Some crystal growth behaviors observed in melt growth processes were reviewed in this paper. Other significant issues not treated in this review include the dislocation/sub-grainboundary formation [82][83][84][85][86][87] and impurity behavior [88][89][90][91][92][93] in crystal growth processes. For the complete understanding of crystal growth mechanisms and the control of the macroand microstructures of mc-Si ingots, further data accumulation is required.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crystal Growth Behaviors of Silicon during Melt Growth Processes

Fujiwara

2012

International Journal of Photoenergy

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It is imperative to improve the crystal quality of Si multicrystal ingots grown by casting because they are widely used for solar cells in the present and will probably expand their use in the future. Fine control of macro- and microstructures, grain size, grain orientation, grain boundaries, dislocation/subgrain boundaries, and impurities, in a Si multicrystal ingot, is therefore necessary. Understanding crystal growth mechanisms in melt growth processes is thus crucial for developing a good technology for producing high-quality Si multicrystal ingots for solar cells. In this review, crystal growth mechanisms involving the morphological transformation of the crystal-melt interface, grain boundary formation, parallel-twin formation, and faceted dendrite growth are discussed on the basis of the experimental results of in situ observations.

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“…Compared to mono‐Si, mc‐Si is cheaper and is widely used to produce low‐cost solar cells. However, mc‐Si wafering using DWS faces many challenges due to crystallographic defects such as grain/twin boundaries, dislocations, precipitates, and impurities . Dislocation density variation is correlated with variation in the fracture toughness, which affects the cutting characteristics .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of grit shape and crystal structure on damage in diamond wire scribing of silicon

et al. 2017

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Fundamental understanding of the fixed abrasive slicing of photovoltaic silicon wafers is crucial for producing low-cost wafers with superior surface quality and mechanical strength. With the goal of understanding the diamond wire sawing process, this paper investigates the scribing of mono-and multi-crystalline silicon by the abrasive grits on an actual diamond wire. Specifically, the effects of grit shape and silicon crystal structure on the resulting surface morphology, subsurface damage, and the critical depth of cut at which ductile-to-brittle transition occurs are investigated. Results show that surface cracking depends on the grit shape. Scribing across the grain and twin boundaries in multi-crystalline silicon impacts the resulting surface morphology, with grit shape producing a greater effect than crystallographic orientation in the grain interior relative to the grain boundary. Subsurface damage depends on the grit shape and crystal structure. Differences in the critical depth of cut for ductile-to-brittle transition in scribing of mono-crystalline silicon are explained via analysis of the stress state produced by idealized grit shapes. K E Y W O R D Sabrasive shape, damage, diamond wire sawing, multi-crystalline silicon, scribing

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Infrared birefringence imaging of residual stress and bulk defects in multicrystalline silicon

Cited by 9 publications

References 14 publications

Grain boundary segregation in multicrystalline silicon: correlative characterization by EBSD, EBIC, and atom probe tomography

Grain boundary segregation in multicrystalline silicon: correlative characterization by EBSD, EBIC, and atom probe tomography

Crystal Growth Behaviors of Silicon during Melt Growth Processes

Effect of grit shape and crystal structure on damage in diamond wire scribing of silicon

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