Research

Chemical natures and distributions of metal impurities in multicrystalline silicon materials

  1. T. Buonassisi1,
  2. A. A. Istratov1,*,
  3. M. D. Pickett1,
  4. M. Heuer1,
  5. J. P. Kalejs2,
  6. G. Hahn3,
  7. M. A. Marcus4,
  8. B. Lai5,
  9. Z. Cai5,
  10. S. M. Heald6,
  11. T. F. Ciszek7,
  12. R. F. Clark8,
  13. D. W. Cunningham8,
  14. A. M. Gabor9,
  15. R. Jonczyk10,
  16. S. Narayanan8,
  17. E. Sauar11,
  18. E. R. Weber1

Article first published online: 2 MAY 2006

DOI: 10.1002/pip.690

Issue

Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications

Volume 14, Issue 6, pages 513–531, September 2006

Additional Information

How to Cite

Buonassisi, T., Istratov, A. A., Pickett, M. D., Heuer, M., Kalejs, J. P., Hahn, G., Marcus, M. A., Lai, B., Cai, Z., Heald, S. M., Ciszek, T. F., Clark, R. F., Cunningham, D. W., Gabor, A. M., Jonczyk, R., Narayanan, S., Sauar, E. and Weber, E. R. (2006), Chemical natures and distributions of metal impurities in multicrystalline silicon materials. Prog. Photovolt: Res. Appl., 14: 513–531. doi: 10.1002/pip.690

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, and Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

  2. 2

    RWE Schott Solar, 4 Suburban Park Drive, Billerica, MA 01821, USA; Presently at: JPK Consulting, 54 Northgate Road, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA

  3. 3

    University of Konstanz, Department of Physics, 78457 Konstanz, Germany

  4. 4

    Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

  5. 5

    Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA

  6. 6

    Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA

  7. 7

    Formerly: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, USA/Presently: Siliconsultant, P.O. Box 1453, Evergreen, CO 80437, USA

  8. 8

    BP Solar, 630 Solarex Court, Frederick, MD 21703, USA

  9. 9

    Evergreen Solar, Inc., 259 Cedar Hill St., Marlboro, MA 01752, USA

  10. 10

    GE Energy, 231 Lake Drive, Newark, DE 19702, USA

  11. 11

    ScanWafer AS, PO Box 280, N-1323 Høvik, Norway

*Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Rd., Building 62-109 (MS 62R0203), Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 15 AUG 2006
  2. Article first published online: 2 MAY 2006
  3. Manuscript Revised: 18 NOV 2005
  4. Manuscript Received: 29 AUG 2005

Funded by

  • NREL. Grant Number: AAT-2-31605-03
  • U.S. Department of Energy. Grant Number: DE-AC36-99GO10337
  • Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences Division of the US Department of Energy. Grant Number: DEAC03-76SF00098
  • US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. Grant Number: W-31-109-ENG-38

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Keywords:

  • multicrystalline silicon solar cells;
  • transition metal impurities;
  • contamination;
  • crystal growth;
  • synchrotron-based analytical X-ray microprobe techniques

Abstract

We present a comprehensive summary of our observations of metal-rich particles in multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cell materials from multiple vendors, including directionally-solidified ingot-grown, sheet, and ribbon, as well as multicrystalline float zone materials contaminated during growth. In each material, the elemental nature, chemical states, and distributions of metal-rich particles are assessed by synchrotron-based analytical x-ray microprobe techniques. Certain universal physical principles appear to govern the behavior of metals in nearly all materials: (a) Two types of metal-rich particles can be observed (metal silicide nanoprecipitates and metal-rich inclusions up to tens of microns in size, frequently oxidized), (b) spatial distributions of individual elements strongly depend on their solubility and diffusivity, and (c) strong interactions exist between metals and certain types of structural defects. Differences in the distribution and elemental nature of metal contamination between different mc-Si materials can largely be explained by variations in crystal growth parameters, structural defect types, and contamination sources. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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