Title :
Increased wafer yield in silicon ingots by the application of high purity silicon nitride-coating and high purity crucibles
Author :
Geyer, Bert ; Schwichtenberg, Gerd ; Muller, A.
Author_Institution :
Deutsche Soler AG, Freiberg, Germany
Abstract :
Multi-crystalline silicon is usually grown in fused silica crucibles, the inner walls of which are coated with silicon nitride. The influence of the purity of the silicon nitride coating and of the fused silica crucible on the minority-carrier lifetime and infrared transparency of the bricks has been monitored. The results indicate that the purer the silicon nitride the higher the minority-carrier lifetime of the crystallized ingot and the higher the yield of highly efficient solar cells per ingot. Also, the purity of the fused silica crucible seems to be affecting the minority carrier lifetime.
Keywords :
carrier lifetime; coatings; elemental semiconductors; infrared spectra; ingots; minority carriers; silicon; solar cells; transparency; Si; SiN; SiO2; fused silica crucibles; infrared transparency; minority-carrier lifetime; multicrystalline silicon; purity; silicon ingots; silicon nitride-coating; solar cells; wafer yield; Casting; Charge carrier lifetime; Coatings; Crystallization; Impurities; Infrared surveillance; Monitoring; Photovoltaic cells; Silicon compounds; Slurries;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2005. Conference Record of the Thirty-first IEEE
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8707-4
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2005.1488316