Open AccessDistribution of radiative crystal imperfections through a silicon ingot
Author(s) -
Andreas Svarstad Flø,
I. Burud,
K. Kvaal,
Rune Søndenå,
Espen Olsen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
aip advances
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 58
ISSN - 2158-3226
DOI - 10.1063/1.4834155
Subject(s) - ingot , silicon , photoluminescence , wafer , spontaneous emission , materials science , crystal (programming language) , radiative transfer , crystalline silicon , band gap , optoelectronics , carrier lifetime , doping , non radiative recombination , optics , physics , semiconductor , metallurgy , laser , semiconductor materials , alloy , computer science , programming language
Crystal imperfections limit the efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Recombination through traps is more prominent in areas with high density of crystal imperfections. A method to visualize the distribution of radiative emission from Shockley Read Hall recombination in silicon is demonstrated. We use hyperspectral photoluminescence, a fast non-destructive method, to image radiatively active recombination processes on a set of 50 wafers through a silicon block. The defect related emission lines D1 and D2 may be detected together or alone. The D3 and D4 seem to be correlated if we assume that an emission at the similar energy as D3 (VID3) is caused by a separate mechanism. The content of interstitial iron (Fei) correlates with D4. This method yields a spectral map of the inter band gap transitions, which opens up for a new way to characterize mechanisms related to loss of efficiency for solar cells processed from the block