Interactions of structural defects with metallic impurities in multicrystalline silicon
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (US). Advanced Light Source
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (US). Dept. of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering
- ASE Americas Inc., Billerica, MA (US)
Interactions between structural defects and metallic impurities were studied in multicrystalline silicon for solar cells applications. The objective was to gain insight into the relationship between solar cell processing, metallic impurity behavior and the resultant effect on material/device performance. With an intense synchrotron x-ray source, high sensitivity x-ray fluorescence measurements were utilized to determine impurity distributions with a spatial resolution of {approx} 1{micro}m. Diffusion length mapping and final solar cell characteristics gauged material/device performance. The materials were tested in both the as-grown state and after full solar cell processing. Iron and nickel metal impurities were located at structural defects in as-grown material, while after solar cell processing, both impurities were still observed in low performance regions. These results indicate that multicrystalline silicon solar cell performance is directly related to metal impurities which are not completely removed during typical processing treatments. A discussion of possible mechanisms for this incomplete removal is presented.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Advanced Light Source (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 495693
- Report Number(s):
- LBNL-39712; CONF-961202-113; LBNL/ALS-610; ON: DE97006572; TRN: US200210%%6
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1996 Fall meeting of the Materials Research Society, Boston, MA (US), 12/02/1996--12/06/1996; Other Information: Supercedes report DE97006572; PBD: Nov 1996; PBD: 1 Nov 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Rate limiting mechanism of transition metal gettering in multicrystalline silicon
Release of impurities from structural defects in polycrystalline silicon solar cells