Effects of crystal defects and their interactions with impurities on electrical properties of multicrystalline Si

We investigated the effects of different crystal defects and their interactions with impurities on the electrical properties of multicrystalline Si (mc-Si) using samples with unique defect patterns and impurities. By using the floating cast method, a single grain boundary (GB), identified as a Σ27 boundary, was first formed with a high density of impurities from atmosphere, leading to an inefficient external gettering of impurities during phosphorus (P) diffusion. During crystal growth, the Σ27 GB splits into the Σ3 and Σ9 GBs with accompanying generation of dislocations and reduction in the density of impurities. The external gettering of impurities became efficient for removing impurities as evidenced by an increase in average minority carrier lifetime. At the final stage of crystal growth, the decrease in minority carrier lifetime was significant, which could not be improved by phosphorus diffusion because of the high densities of segregated impurities and crystal defects originating from the strong contact with the crucible. The increase in Σ number was found to result in more enhanced precipitation of impurities, which led to the poor gettering effect of P diffusion. These results further confirmed the importance of the reduction in the densities of impurities and dislocations for the quality and yield improvement of mc-Si ingots for solar cells.