Defects in Epitaxial Lift-Off Thin Si Films/Wafers and Their Influence on the Solar Cell Performance
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Crystal Solar Inc.
In this paper, we will describe the nature of defects and impurities in thick epitaxial-Si layers and their influence on the cell efficiency. These wafers have very low average dislocation density. Stacking faults (SFs) are the main defect in epi layers. They can occur in many configurations - be isolated, intersecting, and nested. When nested, they can be accompanied by formation of coherent twins resulting in dendritic growth, with pyramids protruding out of the wafer surface. Such pyramids create large local stresses and punch out dislocations. The main mechanism of dislocation formation is through pyramids. Stacking faults degrade solar cell performance. Analyses of the solar cells have revealed that the nested SFs have a controlling effect on the solar cell performance. A well-controlled growth can minimize defect generation and produce wafers that can yield cell efficiencies close to 20%.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1504214
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5J00-60693
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Large-area epitaxial silicon solar cells based on industrial screen-printing processes
|
journal | January 2005 |
A Cause and Cure of Stacking Faults in Silicon Epitaxial Layers
|
journal | December 1967 |
ExtrinsicâIntrinsic StackingâFault Pairs in Epitaxial Silicon
|
journal | August 1963 |
Similar Records
IR-LTS a powerful non-invasive tool to observe crystal defects in as-grown silicon, after device processing, and in heteroepitaxial layers
Using electron channeling contrast imaging to inform and improve the growth of high-efficiency GaAs solar cells on nanopatterned GaAs substrates
Synchrotron White Beam X-ray Topography, Transmission Electron Microscopy and High Resolution X-ray Diffraction Studies of Defects and Strain Relaxation Processes in Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Crystals and Thin Films
Conference
·
Sat Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1996
·
OSTI ID:405509
Using electron channeling contrast imaging to inform and improve the growth of high-efficiency GaAs solar cells on nanopatterned GaAs substrates
Journal Article
·
Sun Jan 09 19:00:00 EST 2022
· Journal of Crystal Growth
·
OSTI ID:1840915
Synchrotron White Beam X-ray Topography, Transmission Electron Microscopy and High Resolution X-ray Diffraction Studies of Defects and Strain Relaxation Processes in Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Crystals and Thin Films
Journal Article
·
Sat Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 2005
· Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing
·
OSTI ID:929836