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Single crystal growth of upgraded metallurgical silicon by HEM for photovoltaic applications

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5513580
Commercially available metallurgical grade (MG) silicon has high B and P content which is not reduced significantly by directional solidification. By choosing high purity raw materials for an experimental Submerged Electrode Arc Furnace, most of the impurities are reduced to 10 ppmw. Directional solidification of upgraded metallurgical grade (UMG) silicon by the Heat Exchanger Method (HEM) has produced 16 cm x 16 cm cross section ingots with nearly single crystal structure. The main problem encountered during directional solidification was SiC impurities dispersed through the structure. Solar cells fabricated from UMG silicon that was directionally solidified twice by HEM have shown up to 12.33% (am1) conversion efficiency.
Research Organization:
Crystal Systems, Inc., Salem, MA (USA)
OSTI ID:
5513580
Report Number(s):
N-8325033
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English