Exceptional gettering response of epitaxially grown kerfless silicon

Powell, D. M.; Markevich, V. P.; Hofstetter, J.; Jensen, M. A.; Morishige, A. E.; Castellanos, S.; Lai, B.; Peaker, A. R.; Buonassisi, T.

doi:10.1063/1.4940947

Title: Exceptional gettering response of epitaxially grown kerfless silicon

Journal Article · Mon Feb 08 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4940947· OSTI ID:1237895

Powell, D. M. ^[1];

^[2]; Hofstetter, J. ^[1]; Jensen, M. A. ^[1]; Morishige, A. E. ^[1]; Castellanos, S. ^[1]; Lai, B. ^[3]; Peaker, A. R. ^[2]; Buonassisi, T. ^[1]

Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
The Univ. of Manchester, Manchester (United Kingdom)
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

The bulk minority-carrier lifetime in p- and n-type kerfless epitaxial (epi) crystalline silicon wafers is shown to increase >500 during phosphorus gettering. We employ kinetic defect simulations and microstructural characterization techniques to elucidate the root cause of this exceptional gettering response. Simulations and deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) indicate that a high concentra- tion of point defects (likely Pt) is “locked in” during fast (60 C/min) cooling during epi wafer growth. The fine dispersion of moderately fast-diffusing recombination-active point defects limits as-grown lifetime but can also be removed during gettering, confirmed by DLTS measurements. Synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy indicates metal agglomerates at structural defects, yet the structural defect density is sufficiently low to enable high lifetimes. Consequently, after phosphorus diffusion gettering, epi silicon exhibits a higher lifetime than materials with similar bulk impurity contents but higher densities of structural defects, including multicrystalline ingot and ribbon silicon materials. As a result, device simulations suggest a solar-cell efficiency potential of this material >23%.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0005314; AC02-06CH11357

OSTI ID:: 1237895

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1237381

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 119, Issue 6; ISSN 0021-8979

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 9 works

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14 SOLAR ENERGY
epitaxial silicon
metal impurities
gettering
solar cells
DLTS
kerfless
silicon
deep level transient spectroscopy
epitaxy
iron
point defects

Title: Exceptional gettering response of epitaxially grown kerfless silicon

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