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Past Work: Silicon Defect Studies

Si samples produced by float-zoning (FZ) with controlled levels of crystallographic defects were used to study effects on minority charge-carrier lifetime and PV cell efficiency.

We have published studies on a wide range of defects, including grain boundaries (see the examples shown at the right), dislocations, Si self-interstitials, and vacancies. 

The improved understanding of  defect control has allowed us to produce FZ crystals with record lifetimes > 20 ms, which have yielded solar cells with  22% efficiency.
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T.F. Ciszek and T.H. Wang, “Silicon Defect and Impurity Studies Using Float-Zone Crystal Growth as a Tool,” J. of Crystal Growth, 237-239 (P3) (2002) pp. 1685-1691.

T.F. Ciszek, Tihu Wang, and T. Schuyler, "Some Effects of Crystal Growth Parameters on Minority Carrier Lifetime in Float-Zoned Silicon," J. Electrochem. Soc. 136 (1989) 230

 

 

FZGS.jpg (45902 bytes)

LTGSIZE.jpg (35792 bytes)


 

♦♦♦♦♦          ted_ciszek @ siliconsultant.com (remove spaces)             ♦♦♦♦♦

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