Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1448456 Acta Materialia 2009 9 Pages PDF
Abstract

We carried out a systematic investigation of microstructures in a particular zone of Si multicrystals which shows a strong local variation in minority carrier diffusion length (MCDL). It was found that three typical regions with distinct microstructures correspond to the microscopic origins of the local MCDL difference. The region with perfect twin structure (Σ3 boundaries) has a high MCDL, while the regions with either high-angle grain boundaries (Σ9 and Σ27 boundaries) or sub-grain boundaries (high density dislocation) exhibit lower minority carrier diffusion. The relationships between the microstructures and the corresponding MCDLs are briefly discussed. This study has implications for developing improved Si multicrystals with appropriate microstructure for application in solar cells.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Materials Science Ceramics and Composites
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