Microstructure and lattice bending in polycrystalline laser–crystallized silicon thin films for photovoltaic applications

Grain size, grain boundary population, orientation distribution and lattice defects of polycrystalline silicon thin films are investigated by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The silicon thin films are produced by a combination of diode laser melt-mediated crystallization of an amorphous silicon seed layer and epitaxial thickening of the seed layer by solid phase epitaxy (SPE). The combined laser-SPE process delivers grains exceeding several 10 μm of width and far larger than 100 μm in length. Strong lattice rotations between 10 and 50° from one side of the grain to the other are observed within the larger grains of the film. The misorientation axes are well aligned with the direction of movement of the laser. The intragranular misorientation is associated both with geometrically necessary dislocations and low angle boundaries, which can serve as recombination centres for electron-hole pairs. Since the lateral grain size is up to two orders of magnitude larger than the film thickness, the high dislocation density could become an important factor reducing the solar cell performance.