Title
Microscopic Distributions of Light Elements and Their Precipitates in Multicrystalline Silicon for Solar Cells
Author
Haruhiko Ono, Takahide Ishizuka, Chihiro Kato, Koji Arafune, Yoshio Ohshita and Atsushi Ogura
Year
2010
Journal
Japanese Journal of Applied Physics
Abstract
The behaviors of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in multicrystalline silicon grown by the cast method were investigated using infrared absorption spectroscopy. A microscopic distribution map of the impurities and their precipitates was obtained with a spatial resolution of a few tens of µm. The distribution and bonding states depended on the impurity: nitrogen and oxygen precipitated as crystalline nitride (α-Si3N4) and amorphous oxide (SiO2), respectively, while carbon distributed homogeneously as isolated substitutional atoms. The nitrogen and oxygen precipitates remained independent, and thus, they might not have formed a compound oxynitride like Si2N2O.
Instrument
IRT-5000
Keywords
FTIR microscopy, Solar cell, precipitates,light elements, silica, silicon nitride