Removal of dislocation cores from multicrystalline silicon by etching

Thesis

Approximately 50% of solar cells are based on multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si). A major limiting factor in their efficiency is recombination of electron-hole pairs at dislocations. Manufacturers of mc-Si wafers are focussing on reducing dislocation densities by modified casting techniques. However, an alternative approach is to remove the dislocations after growth and wafering. This thesis aims to explore the feasibility of using chemical processing to remove dislocations from mc-Si wafers...

Expand abstract

Authors: Gregori, N

• Publication date: 2011
• Type of award: MSc by Research
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: Oxford University, UK
• Language: English
• Keywords: silicon; dislocations; solar; etching; multicrystalline
• Subjects: Materials Sciences; Semiconductor devices