Chemical natures and distributions of metal impurities in multicrystalline silicon materials

Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

Volumn 14, Issue 6, 2006, Pages 513-531

  Buonassisi, T ^a   Istratov, A A ^a,e   Pickett, M D ^a   Heuer, M ^a   Kalejs, J P ^b,c   Hahn, G ^d   Marcus, M A ^e   Lai, B ^f   Cai, Z ^f   Heald, S M ^g   Ciszek, T F ^h,i   Clark, R F ^j   Cunningham, D W ^j   Gabor, A M ^k   Jonczyk, R ^l   Narayanan, S ^j   Sauar, E ^m   Weber, E R ^a  

^a University of California Berkeley   (United States)

^b RWE POWER AG   (Germany)

^c JPK Consulting   (United States)

^d UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ   (Germany)

^e LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

^f ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

^g PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY   (United States)

^h NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY   (United States)

ⁱ Siliconsultant   (United States)

^j BP Solar ^*  (United States)

^k Evergreen Solar Inc   (United States)

^l GE ENERGY   (United States)

^m ScanWafer AS   (Norway)

more..

Author keywords

Contamination; Crystal growth; Multicrystalline silicon solar cells; Synchrotron based analytical X ray microprobe techniques; Transition metal impurities

Indexed keywords

CONTAMINATION; CRYSTAL GROWTH; ELEMENTARY PARTICLES; GROWTH (MATERIALS); INGOTS; SOLAR CELLS; SOLIDIFICATION;

METAL IMPURITIES; METAL RICH PARTICLES; MULTICRYSTALLINE SILICON MATERIALS; SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION;

SILICON COMPOUNDS;

EID: 33748587589     PISSN: 10627995     EISSN: 1099159X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/pip.690     Document Type: Article

References (87)

1. Macdonald D, Cuevas A, Kinomura A, Nakano Y. Phosphorus gettering in multicrystalline silicon studied by neutron activation analysis. Proceedings of the 29th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, New Orleans, USA, 2002; 1707-1710.
2. Istratov AA, Buonassisi T, McDonald RJ, Smith AR, Schindler R, Rand JA, Kalejs JP, Weber ER. Metal content of multicrystalline silicon for solar cells and its impact on minority carrier diffusion length. Journal of Applied Physics 2003; 94: 6552-6559.
3. Macdonald D, Cuevas A, Kinomura A, Nakano Y, Geerligs LJ. Transition-metal profiles in a multicrystalline silicon ingot. Journal of Applied Physics 2005; 97: 033523.
4. Istratov AA, Hieslmair H, Weber ER. Iron contamination in silicon technology. Applied Physics A: Material Science & Processing 2000; 70: 489-534.
5. Istratov AA, Weber ER. Physics of copper in silicon. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 2002; 149: G21-G30.
6. Lee K, Nussbaum A. The influences of traps on the generation-recombination current in silicon diodes. Solid-State Electronics 1980; 23: 655-660.
7. Simeonov SS, Ivanovich MD. Recombination current in abrupt semiconductor p-n junctions. Physica Status Solidi (a) 1984; 82: 275-284.
8. Monta M, Muramatsu Y, Watanabe K, Nishio N, Taketomi T, Shimono T. In Diagnostic techniques for semiconductor materials and devices; Vol. 92-2, Rai-Choudhury P (ed.). (The Electrochem. Soc., Pennington, 1992), p. 152-163.
9. Buonassisi T, Vyvenko OF, Istratov AA, Weber ER, Hahn G, Sontag D, Rakotoniaina JP, Breitenstein O, Isenberg J, Schindler R. Observation of transition metals at shunt locations in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Journal of Applied Physics 2004; 95: 1556-1561.
10. Breitenstein O, Rakotoniaina JP, Hejjo AI Rifai M, Werner M. Shunt types in crystalline silicon solar cells. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 2004; 12: 529-538.
11. Davis JR, Rohatgi A, Hopkins RH, Blais PD, Rai-Choudjury P, McCormick JR, Mollenkopf HC. Impurities in Silicon Solar Cells. IEEE Transactions on Electronic Devices 1980; 27: 677-687.
12. Rand J, Rozgonyi GA, Jonczyk R, Batta S, Lu J, Reedy R, Zhang R. Characterization of Silicon-Film Sheet Material. Proceedings of the 12th Workshop on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Materials and Processes, Breckenridge, CO, 2002; 3-6.
13. Jonczyk R, Rand JA, Grenko AJ, Moyer JG. Effect of high levels of transition metals on SiliconFilm sheet silicon material. Proceedings of the 19th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Paris, France, 2004. 1263-1265.
14. Plekhanov PS, Gafiteanu R, Gosele UM, Tan TY. Modeling of gettering of precipitated impurities from Si for carrier lifetime improvement in solar cell applications. Journal of Applied Physics 1999; 86: 2453-2458.
15. Buonassisi T, Istratov AA, Heuer M, Marcus M, Jonczyk R, Isenberg J, Lai B, Cai Z, Heald S, Warta W, Schindler R, Willeke G, Weber ER. Synchrotron-based investigations of the nature and impact of iron contamination in multi-crystalline silicon solar cell materials. Journal of Applied Physics 2005; 97: 074901.
16. Buonassisi T, Marcus MA, Istratov AA, Heuer M, Ciszek TF, Lai B, Cai Z, Weber ER. Analysis of copper-rich precipitates in silicon: chemical state, gettering, and impact on multicrystalline silicon solar cell material. Journal of Applied Physics 2005; 97: 063503.
17. McHugo SA, Thompson AC, Mohammed A, Lamble G, Périchaud I, Martinuzzi S, Werner M, Rinio M, Koch W, Höfs H-U, Häßler C. Nanometer-scale metal precipitates in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Journal of Applied Physics 2001; 89: 4282-4288.
18. Pizzini S, Bigoni L, Beghi M, Chemelli C. On the effect of impurities on the photovoltaic behavior of solar grade silicon. II. Influence of titanium, vanadium, chromium, iron, and zirconium on photovoltaic behavior of polycrystalline solar cells. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 1986; 133: 2363-2373.
19. Ihlal A, Rizk R, Hardouin Duparc OBM. Correlation between the gettering efficiencies and the energies of interfaces in silicon bicrystals. Journal of Applied Physics 1996; 80: 2665-2670.
20. Chen J, Sekiguchi T, Yang D, Yin F, Kido K, Tsurekawa S. Electron-beam-induced current study of grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon. Journal of Applied Physics 2004; 96: 5490-5495.
21. Chen J, Yang D, Zhenqiang X, Sekiguchi T. Recombination activity of Sigma 3 boundaries in boron-doped multi-crystalline silicon: influence of iron recombination. Journal of Applied Physics 2005; 97: 033701.
22. Ravishankar PS, Dismukes JP, Wilcox WR. Influence of ACRT on interface stability and particle trapping behavior in directional solidification of silicon. Journal of Crystal Growth 1985; 71: 579-586.
23. Kalejs JP, Bathey B, Dubé C. Segregation and impurity effect in silicon growth from the melt in the presence of second phase formation. Journal of Crystal Growth 1991; 109: 174-180.
24. Schönecker A, Geerligs LJ, Müller A. Casting technologies for solar silicon wafers: block casting and ribbon-growth-on-substrate. Solid State Phenomena 2003; 95-96: 149-158.
25. Hall RB, Barnett AM, Collins SR, Checchi JC, Ford DH, Kendall CL, Rand J, Moore CB, in US Patent Office, Patent Number 6,111,191 (AstroPower Inc., USA, 2000).
26. Kalejs JP. Silicon Ribbons for Solar Cells. Solid State Phenomena 2004; 95-96: 159-174.
27. Hahn G, Schönecker A. New crystalline silicon ribbon materials for photovoltaics. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 2004; 16: R1615-R1648.
28. Ciszek TF, Wang TH. Silicon defect and impurity studies using float-zone crystal growth as a tool. Journal of Crystal Growth 2002; 237-239: 1685-1691.
29. Ciszek TF. In Crystal Growth Technology, Scheel HJ, Fukuda T (eds). John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.: Sussex, U.K., 2003; 267-289.
30. Report JJEA-PVPS T1-12:2003, International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme, Trends in Photovoltaic Applications-Survey report of selected IEA countries between 1992 and 2002,' (2003).
31. Geerligs LJ. Characterization of multi-crystalline blocks and efforts to relate their properties to the efficiencies of solar cells. Proceedings of the 14th Workshop on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells & Modules: Materials and Processes, Winter Park, CO, 2004; 143-151.
32. Sinton RA, Mankad T, Bowden S, Enjalbert N. Evaluating silicon blocks and ingots with quasi-steady-state lifetime measurements. Proceedings of the 19th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Paris, France, 2004; 520-523.
33. Ciszek TF. Techniques for the crystal growth of silicon ingots and ribbons. Journal of Crystal Growth 1984; 66: 655-672.
34. Hanoka JI. An overview of silicon ribbon growth technology. Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 2001; 65: 231-237.
35. Hahn G, Sontag D, Häßler C. Current collecting channels in RGS silicon solar cells - are they useful? Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 2002; 72: 453-464.
36. Rozgonyi GA, Lu J, Zhang R, Rand J, Jonczyk R. Evaluation of silicon sheet film growth and wafer processing via structural, chemical, and electrical diagnostics. Solid State Phenomena 2004; 95-96: 211-216.
37. Rand J, Rozgonyi GA, Lu J, Reedy R. Characterization of silicon-film sheet material. Proceedings of the 29th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, New Orleans, USA, 2002; 98-101.
38. Buonassisi T, Istratov AA, Marcus MA, Heuer M, Pickett MD, Lai B, Cai Z, Heald SM, Weber ER. Local measurements of diffusion length and chemical character of metal clusters in multicrystalline silicon. Solid State Phenomena 2005; 108-109: 577.
39. McHugo SA, Thompson AC, Flink C, Weber ER, Lamble G, Gunion B, MacDowell A, Celestre R, Padmore HA, Hussain Z. Synchrotron-based impurity mapping. Journal of Crystal Growth 2000; 210: 395-400.
40. Vyvenko OF, Buonassisi T, Istratov AA, Weber ER. X-ray beam induced current/microprobe x-ray fluorescence: synchrotron radiation based x-ray microprobe techniques for analysis of the recombination activity and chemical nature of metal impurities in silicon. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 2004; 16: S141-S151.
41. Vyvenko OF, Buonassisi T, Istratov AA, Hieslmair H, Thompson AC, Schindler R, Weber ER. X-ray beam induced current: a synchrotron radiation based technique for the in-situ analysis of recombination properties and chemical nature of metal clusters in silicon. Journal of Applied Physics 2002; 91: 3614-3617.
42. Buonassisi T, Istratov AA, Pickett MD, Marcus MA, Hahn G, Riepe S, Isenberg J, Warta W, Willeke G, Ciszek T, Weber ER. Quantifying the recombination activity of metal precipitates in multicrystalline silicon using synchrotron-based spectrally-resolved X-ray beam induced current. Applied Physics Letters 2005; 87: 044101.
43. Cai Z, Lai B, Yun W, McNulty I, Khounsary A, Maser J, Ilinski P, Legnini D, Trakhtenberg E, Xu S, Tieman B, Wiemerslage G, Gluskin E. Performance of a high-resolution X-ray microprobe at the Advanced Photon Source. AIP Conference Proceeedings 2000; 521: 31-34.
44. Yun W, Lai B, Cai Z, Maser J, Legini D, Gluskin E, Chen Z, Krasnoperova A, Valdimirsky Y, Cerrina F, Fabrizio ED, Gentili M. Nanometer focusing of hard X-rays by phase zone plates. Review of Scientific Instruments 1999; 70: 2238-2241.
45. Heald SM, Stern EA, Brewe D, Gordon RA, Crazier ED, Jiang D, Cross JO. XAFS at the Pacific Northwest Consortium-Collaborative Access Team Undulator Beamline. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation 2001; 8: 342-344.
46. Underwood JH, Thompson AC, Wu Y, Glauque RD, Jones KW, Rivers ML. Elemental measurements with an X-ray microprobe of biological and geological samples with femtogram sensitivity. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment 1988; 266: 318-323.
47. Marcus MA, MacDowell AA, Celestre R, Domning E, Franck K, Manceau A, Morrison G, Miller T, Padmore HA, Sublett RE. Beamline 10-3-2 at ALS: a hard X-ray microscope for environmental and materials sciences. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation 2004; 11: 239-247.
48. Fell TS, Wilshaw PR. The effect of different transition metals on the recombination efficiency of dislocations. Journal de Physique W 1991; 1: C6-211-216.
49. Kittler M, Ulhaq-Bouillet C, Higgs V. Influence of copper contamination on recombination activity of misfit dislocations in SiGe/Si epilayers: temperature dependence of activity as a marker characterizing the contamination level. Journal of Applied Physics 1995; 78: 4573-4583.
50. Lee DM, Rozgonyi GA. Low-temperature gettering of trace iron and copper by misfit dislocations in Si/Si(Ge) epitaxy. Applied Physics Letters 1994; 65: 350-352.
51. McHugo SA, Thompson AC, Lamble G, Flink C, Weber ER. Metal impurity precipitates in silicon: chemical state and stability. Physica B 1999; 273-274: 371-374.
52. Kazmerski LL, Ireland PJ, Ciszek TF. Evidence for the segregation of impurities to grain boundaries in multigrained silicon using Auger electron spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Applied Physics Letters 1980; 36: 323-325.
53. McHugo SA, Weber ER, Myers SM, Petersen GA. Competitive gettering of copper in Czochralski silicon by implantation-induced cavities and internal gettering sites. Applied Physics Letters 1996; 69: 3060-3062.
54. Abrosimov NV, Bazhenov AV, Tatarchenko VA. Growth features and local electronic properties of shaped silicon. Journal of Crystal Growth 1987; 82: 203-208.
55. Seager CH. Grain boundaries in polycrystalline silicon. Annual Review of Materials Science 1985; 15: 271-302.
56. Istratov AA, Buonassisi T, Huber W, Weber ER. Evidence for segregation of iron at grain boundaries in polycrystalline and multicrystalline silicon. Proceedings of the 14th NREL Workshop on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Materials and Processes, Winter Park, CO, USA, 2004; 230-233.
57. Dorward RC, Kirkaldy JS. Effect of grain-boundaries on the solubility of copper in silicon. Journal of Materials Science 1968; 3: 502-506.
58. Uhlmann DR, Chalmers B, Jackson KA. Interaction between particles at a solid-liquid interface. Journal of Applied Physics 1964; 35: 2986-2993.
59. Rohatgi A, Davis JC, Hopkins RH, Rai-Choudhury P, McMullin PG. Effect of titanium, copper and iron on silicon solar cells. Solid State Electronics 1980; 23: 415-422.
60. Graff K. Metal Impurities in Silicon-Device Fabrication. Springer, Berlin; New York, 2000.
61. McHugo SA, Thompson AC, Périchaud I, Martinuzzi S. Direct correlation of transition metal impurities and minority carrier recombination in multicrystalline silicon. Applied Physics Letters 1998; 72: 3482-3484.
62. Buonassisi T, Istratov AA, Pickett MD, Rakotoniaina JP, Breitenstein O, Marcus MA, Heald SM, Weber ER. Transition metals in photovoltaic-grade ingot-cast multicrystalline silicon: assessing the role of impurities in silicon nitride crucible lining material. Journal of Crystal Growth (in press).
63. Pavarajarn V, Kimura S. Catalytic effects of metals on direct nitridation of silicon. Journal of American Ceramic Society 2001; 84: 1669-1674.
64. Park D-S, Lee S-Y, Kim H-D. Extra-large grains of the silicon nitride ceramics doped with yttria and hafnia. Journal of American Ceramic Society 1998; 81: 1876-1880.
65. Binetti S, Acciarri M, Savigni C, Brianza A, Pizzini S, Musinu A. Effect of nitrogen contamination by crucible encapsulation on polycrystalline silicon material quality. Materials Science & Engineering B 1996; 36: 68-72.
66. Ballif C, Peters S, Borchert C, Hässler C, Isenberg J, Schindler R, Warta W, Willeke G. Lifetime investigations of deteriorated effects in processed multicrystalline silicon wafers. Proceedings of the 17th European Photovoltaics Specialists Conference and Exhibition, Munich, Germany, 2001; 1818-1821.
67. Rinio M, Ballif C, Buonassisi T, Borchert D. Defects in the deteriorated border layer of block-cast multicrystalline silicon ingots. Proceedings of the 19th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Paris, France, 2004; 762-765.
68. Tsai CT. On the finite element modeling of dislocation dynamics during semiconductor crystal growth. Journal of Crystal Growth 1991; 113: 499-507.
69. Franke D, Rettelbacha T, Häßler C, Koch W, Müller A. Silicon ingot casting: process development by numerical simulations. Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 2002; 72: 83-92.
70. Steinbach I, Apel M, Rettelbach T, Franke D. Numerical simulations for silicon crystallization processes: examples from ingot and ribbon casting. Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 2002; 72: 59-68.
71. Lu J, Wagener M, Rozgonyi G, Rand J, Jonczyk R. Effects of grain boundary on impurity gettering and oxygen precipitation in polycrystalline sheet silicon. Journal of Applied Physics 2003; 94: 140-144.
72. Kalejs JP. Silicon ribbons and foils - state of the art. Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 2002; 72: 139-153.
73. McHugo SA, Hieslmair H, Weber ER. Gettering of metallic impurities in photovoltaic silicon. Applied Physics A: Material Science & Processing 1997; 64: 127-137.
74. Pizzini S. Chemistry and Physics of Segregation of Impurities at Extended Defects in Silicon. Physica Status Solidi A 1999; 171: 123-132.
75. Kittler M, Seifert W. Estimation of the upper limit of the minority-carrier diffusion length in multicrystalline silicon: limitation of the action of gettering and passivation on dislocations. Solid State Phenomena 2004; 95-96: 197-204.
76. Istratov AA, Buonassisi T, Marcus MA, Ciszek TF, Weber ER. Dependence of precipitation behavior of Cu and Ni in CZ and multicrystalline silicon on cooling conditions. Proceedings of the 14th NREL Workshop on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Materials and Processes, Winter Park, USA, 2004; 165-169.
77. Buonassisi T, Istratov AA, Marcus MA, Lai B, Cai Z, Heald SM, Weber ER. Engineering metal-impurity nanodefects for low-cost solar cells. Nature Materials 2005; 4: 676-679.
78. Zhou T-Q, Buczkowski A, Radzimski Z, Rozgonyi GA. The gettering and electrical activity of Ni, Au, and Cu epitaxial Si/Si (2%Ge)/Si during RTA. Proceedings of the Materials Research Society, Rapid Thermal and Integrated Processing Symposium, Anaheim, CA, USA, 1991; 55-60.
79. Kveder V, Kittler M, Schröter W. Recombination activity of contaminated dislocations in silicon: a model describing electron-beam induced current contrast behavior. Physical Review B 2001; 63: 115208.
80. Perichaud I, Martinuzzi S, Durand F. Multicrystalline silicon prepared by electromagnetic continuous pulling: recent results and comparison to directional solidification material. Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 2002; 72: 101-107.
81. Einhaus R, Deuerinckx F, Van Kerscaver E, Szlufcik J, Durand F, Ribeyron PJ, Duby JC, Sarti D, Goaer G, Le GN, Perichaud I, Clerc L, Martinuzzi S. Hydrogen passivation of newly developed EMC-multi-crystalline silicon. Materials Science & Engineering B 1999; 58: 81-85.
82. 4 inclusions in multicrystalline silicon ingots. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing 2004; 7: 39-43.
83. Rakotoniaina J-P, Breitenstein O, Werner M, AI Rifai MH, Buonassisi T, Pickett MD, Ghosh M, Müller A, Nam LQ. Distribution and formation of silicon carbide and silicon nitride precipitates in block-cast multicrystalline silicon. Proceedings of the 20th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Barcelona, Spain, 2005, 773-776.
84. Kalejs JP, Chalmers B. Melt-interface mechanism for generation of silicon carbide microdefects in silicon. Journal of Crystal Growth 1986; 79: 487-492.
85. Gottschalk H. Precipitates in Ribbon Grown Solar Silicon. Physica Status Solidi (b) 2000; 222: 353-365.
86. Rohatgi A. Designs and fabrication technologies for future commercial crystalline Si solar cells. Proceedings of the 15th NREL Workshop on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Materials and Processes, Vail, USA, 2005; 11-22.
87. Smith AR, McDonald RJ, Manini H, Hurley DL, Norman EB, Vella MC, Odom RW. Low-background instrumental neutron activation analysis of silicon semiconductor materials. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 1996; 143: 339-346.