Electron channeling and EBIC studies of edge-supported pulling silicon sheets
The dominant grain structure in edge-supported pulling silicon sheets has been studied by electron channeling in a scanning electron microscope. For unseeded polycrystalline silicon sheets in which equilibrium grain structures have been attained, it was found that the dominant grain structure is long, narrow grains with surface normals less than twenty degrees off the (011) direction. The plane that is parallel to the growth direction and perpendicular to the surfaces for most of these grains is very close to (111). The electronic quality of the grains, determined by electron-beam-induced current measurements, has been correlated with crystallographic orientations determined by electron channeling. It was observed that grains with this kind of grain structure tend to have better electronic quality, i.e., less electrically active intragrain defects, than the random grains. These findings are consistent with past experience that larger grained polycrystalline silicon sheets and higher efficiency solar cells can be obtained with seeded growth using seed orientations similar to the afore mentioned dominant grain structure.
- Research Organization:
- Solar Electric Conversion Research Division, Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, CO
- OSTI ID:
- 6284713
- Journal Information:
- IEEE Trans. Electron Devices; (United States), Vol. ED-31:5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
SILICON
CRYSTAL GROWTH
ELECTRON CHANNELING
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
CRYSTAL DOPING
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
FABRICATION
GRAIN ORIENTATION
GRAIN SIZE
POLYCRYSTALS
SILICON SOLAR CELLS
CHANNELING
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
CRYSTALS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
MICROSCOPY
MICROSTRUCTURE
ORIENTATION
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
SEMIMETALS
SIZE
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
140501* - Solar Energy Conversion- Photovoltaic Conversion
360603 - Materials- Properties