Download or read book Metal Impurities in N type Crystalline Silicon for Photovoltaics written by Ashley Elizabeth Morishige and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Crystalline silicon is the dominant technology in the rapidly-growing photovoltaics (PV) industry, but significant cost reduction is still required before widespread grid parity is achieved. One-quarter of the cost of a PV module is the Si wafer. One way to reduce the cost/kWh of PV is to identify a higher-efficiency "drop-in" substitute for the currently dominant p-type multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) wafer. This thesis explores one class of wafer substitute: n-type silicon. This material is thought to have higher defect tolerance than p-type, but practical mc-Si cell efficiencies have remained lower than in p-type. This thesis explores why, using a combination of simulation and experiment. In particular, synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence mapping is used to non-destructively evaluate metal impurity evolution during processing. This thesis demonstrates that metal impurity redistribution during solar cell processing is similar in n- and p-type mc-Si but the relative electrical impact of point defect and precipitated impurities is different, requiring different approaches to processing. It has been hypothesized and shown indirectly that metal impurities redistribute similarly in n- and p-type mc-Si during processing. To confirm this hypothesis, I combined Fermi-level analysis with direct measurements of the metal distribution before and after an industrially-relevant range of gettering processes. This study confirmed that the understanding of metal redistribution developed for p-type mc-Si is directly applicable to n-type mc-Si. To improve the understanding of metal impurity movement during solar cell processing, I developed a tool using Sentaurus TCAD software to visualize in 2D metal redistribution and the resulting recombination activity. I also performed an analytical review of the state of the art of crystalline silicon solar cell process simulation tools. The analysis elucidated the key physics of impurity gettering during solar cell processing and enabled guidelines for efficient, yet accurate, solar cell process simulations. To quantify the recombination activity of precipitated iron in n-type crystalline silicon, I directly measured the iron content and recombination strength of iron precipitates in n-type crystalline silicon using a suite of micro-characterization tools. I found that iron-containing precipitates are highly recombination active in n-type Si and that the precipitate size is correlated with its recombination strength. To enable this study, I benchmarked the use of a new high-throughput synchrotron-based data collection mode called on-the-fly scanning. To bring the level of sophistication of predictive simulation for p-type mc-Si to that of n-type mc-Si, I developed a simulation tool that calculates the redistribution of iron throughout the solar cell process and the resulting injection-dependent electrical performance of the wafer for both p- and n-type Si. Analysis using this tool indicates that p-type mc-Si usually requires point defect remediation during a slow cooling process, but for n-type mc-Si, dissolving iron-rich precipitates during shorter, higher temperature processing is often sufficient. Efficiency entitlement curves predict that n-type mc-Si can support 20% efficient solar cells. Finally, knowledge of defects developed for Si wafers was applied to a key challenge facing the PV industry at the PV system level. In the field, degradation of next-generation industrial p-type mc-Si PV modules has been observed. Leveraging the fundamental understanding of the physics of impurities in Si wafers, the recombination parameters of the root-cause defect were quantified. Building on the rich literature of p-type multicrystalline silicon, this thesis enables predictive engineering of all crystalline silicon materials from wafer growth to module performance in the field.

Download or read book Handbook of Photovoltaic Silicon written by Deren Yang and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-11-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The utilization of sun light is one of the hottest topics in sustainable energy research. To efficiently convert sun power into a reliable energy – electricity – for consumption and storage, silicon and its derivatives have been widely studied and applied in solar cell systems. This handbook covers the photovoltaics of silicon materials and devices, providing a comprehensive summary of the state of the art of photovoltaic silicon sciences and technologies. This work is divided into various areas including but not limited to fundamental principles, design methodologies, wafering techniques/fabrications, characterizations, applications, current research trends and challenges. It offers the most updated and self-explanatory reference to all levels of students and acts as a quick reference to the experts from the fields of chemistry, material science, physics, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, solar energy, etc..

Download or read book Metal Impurities in Silicon Device Fabrication written by Klaus Graff and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-08 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A discussion of the different mechanisms responsible for contamination together with a survey of their impact on device performance. The author examines the specific properties of main and rare impurities in silicon, as well as the detection methods and requirements in modern technology. Finally, impurity gettering is studied along with modern techniques to determine gettering efficiency. Throughout all of these subjects, the book presents only reliable and up-to-date data so as to provide a thorough review of recent scientific investigations.

Download or read book Metal Impurities in Silicon and Germanium Based Technologies written by Cor Claeys and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-08-13 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a unique review of various aspects of metallic contamination in Si and Ge-based semiconductors. It discusses all of the important metals including their origin during crystal and/or device manufacturing, their fundamental properties, their characterization techniques and their impact on electrical devices’ performance. Several control and possible gettering approaches are addressed. The book offers a valuable reference guide for all researchers and engineers studying advanced and state-of-the-art micro- and nano-electronic semiconductor devices and circuits. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, it combines perspectives from e.g. material science, defect engineering, device processing, defect and device characterization, and device physics and engineering.

Download or read book Advanced Silicon Materials for Photovoltaic Applications written by Sergio Pizzini and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, the silicon feedstock for photovoltaic cells comes from processes which were originally developed for the microelectronic industry. It covers almost 90% of the photovoltaic market, with mass production volume at least one order of magnitude larger than those devoted to microelectronics. However, it is hard to imagine that this kind of feedstock (extremely pure but heavily penalized by its high energy cost) could remain the only source of silicon for a photovoltaic market which is in continuous expansion, and which has a cumulative growth rate in excess of 30% in the last few years. Even though reports suggest that the silicon share will slowly decrease in the next twenty years, finding a way to manufacture a specific solar grade feedstock in large quantities, at a low cost while maintaining the quality needed, still remains a crucial issue. Thin film and quantum confinement-based silicon cells might be a complementary solution. Advanced Silicon Materials for Photovoltaic Applications has been designed to describe the full potentialities of silicon as a multipurpose material and covers: Physical, chemical and structural properties of silicon Production routes including the promise of low cost feedstock for PV applications Defect engineering and the role of impurities and defects Characterization techniques, and advanced analytical techniques for metallic and non-metallic impurities Thin film silicon and thin film solar cells Innovative quantum effects, and 3rd generation solar cells With contributions from internationally recognized authorities, this book gives a comprehensive analysis of the state-of-the-art of process technologies and material properties, essential for anyone interested in the application and development of photovoltaics.

Download or read book Metal Impurity Redistribution in Crystalline Silicon for Photovoltaic Application written by and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multicrystalline silicon, which is among the most common materials for solar cells [3], contains extended defects like grain boundaries and dislocations and a high amount of metal impurities potentially reducing the solar cell efficiency [1,7]. In order to reduce the detrimental effect of metal impurities on the efficiency of multicrystalline solar cells, the metal impurities can be redistributed into electrical inactive areas of the solar cell (gettering) [12] or at few large accumulation sites, e.g. at grain boundaries [16]. In this work the interaction of metal impurities with extended d...

Download or read book Nanostructured Solar Cells written by Narottam Das and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2017-02-22 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nanostructured solar cells are very important in renewable energy sector as well as in environmental aspects, because it is environment friendly. The nano-grating structures (such as triangular or conical shaped) have a gradual change in refractive index which acts as a multilayer antireflective coating that is leading to reduced light reflection losses over broadband ranges of wavelength and angle of incidence. There are different types of losses in solar cells that always reduce the conversion efficiency, but the light reflection loss is the most important factor that decreases the conversion efficiency of solar cells significantly. The antireflective coating is an optical coating which is applied to the surface of lenses or any optical devices to reduce the light reflection losses. This coating assists for the light trapping capturing capacity or improves the efficiency of optical devices, such as lenses or solar cells. Hence, the multilayer antireflective coatings can reduce the light reflection losses and increases the conversion efficiency of nanostructured solar cells.

Download or read book Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells written by W.R. Fahrner and published by Trans Tech Publications Ltd. This book was released on 2006-08-15 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world of today must face up to two contradictory energy problems: on the one hand, there is the sharply growing consumer demand in countries such as China and India. On the other hand, natural resources are dwindling. Moreover, many of those countries which still possess substantial gas and oil supplies are politically unstable. As a result, renewable natural energy sources have received great attention. Among these, solar-cell technology is one of the most promising candidates. However, there still remains the problem of the manufacturing costs of such cells. Many attempts have been made to reduce the production costs of “conventional” solar cells (manufactured from monocrystalline silicon using diffusion methods) by instead using cheaper grades of silicon, and simpler pn-junction fabrication. That is the ‘hero’ of this book; the heterojunction solar cell.

Download or read book Detecting and Gettering Chromium Impurities in Photovoltaic Crystalline Silicon written by Mallory Ann Jensen and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photovoltaic (PV) modules provide a source of renewable electricity by harnessing solar energy. Currently, crystalline silicon dominates the PV market with an approximate market share of 90% and record solar cell efficiencies greater than 20%. However, the PV market must decrease the cost to the consumer to maintain growth and meet global electricity demands. Increasing the solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency is one of the most significant cost levers. Transition metal impurities can degrade silicon wafer-based solar cell efficiencies at concentrations as low as 1010 cm3 . By removing interstitial metals from the bulk and/or collecting interstitial metals at heterogeneous nucleation sites, phosphorous diffusion gettering renders them less detrimental in the final solar cell. While they exist for iron, kinetics process simulation tools do not yet exist for chromium, which has higher capture cross-sections for minority carriers and is therefore more detrimental in both p- and n-type materials. In this thesis, I employ synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy to study chromium (Cr) distributions in multicrystalline silicon in as-grown material and after two phosphorous diffusion profiles. I complement quantified precipitate size and spatial distribution with interstitial Cr concentration and minority carrier lifetime measurements to provide insight into chromium gettering kinetics and offer suggestions for minimizing the device impacts of chromium. The data presented in this thesis can be used in development of kinetics process simulation tools for chromium gettering. Finally, I describe a new technique for detecting low concentrations of impurities in n- and p-type silicon. The development of high-performance silicon materials, including n-type, necessitates more sensitive impurity detection techniques, capable of measuring interstitial contaminations below 1010 cm-3. I propose the development of a free-carrier absorption-based technique that incorporates a temperature stage. By measuring injection-dependent lifetimes at a wide range of sample temperatures, the identifying parameters of lifetime-limiting defects can be deduced.

Download or read book Defects and Impurities in Silicon Materials written by Yutaka Yoshida and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-03-30 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book emphasizes the importance of the fascinating atomistic insights into the defects and the impurities as well as the dynamic behaviors in silicon materials, which have become more directly accessible over the past 20 years. Such progress has been made possible by newly developed experimental methods, first principle theories, and computer simulation techniques. The book is aimed at young researchers, scientists, and technicians in related industries. The main purposes are to provide readers with 1) the basic physics behind defects in silicon materials, 2) the atomistic modeling as well as the characterization techniques related to defects and impurities in silicon materials, and 3) an overview of the wide range of the research fields involved.

Download or read book Handbook of Silicon Photonics written by Laurent Vivien and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-04-19 with total page 831 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of integrated silicon photonic circuits has recently been driven by the Internet and the push for high bandwidth as well as the need to reduce power dissipation induced by high data-rate signal transmission. To reach these goals, efficient passive and active silicon photonic devices, including waveguide, modulators, photodetectors,

Download or read book Emerging Photovoltaic Materials written by Santosh K. Kurinec and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-12-03 with total page 759 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers the recent advances in photovoltaics materials and their innovative applications. Many materials science problems are encountered in understanding existing solar cells and the development of more efficient, less costly, and more stable cells. This important and timely book provides a historical overview, but concentrates primarily on the exciting developments in the last decade. It includes organic and perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics in ferroelectric materials, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite, materials with improved photovoltaic efficiencies as well as the full range of semiconductor materials for solar-to-electricity conversion, from crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon to cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium sulfide selenides, dye sensitized solar cells, organic solar cells, and environmentally-friendly copper zinc tin sulfide selenides.

Download or read book Proceedings of the National Workshop on Low Cost Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells May 18 19 1976 Southern Methodist University Dallas Texas written by Ting L. Chu and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Solar PV Power written by Rabindra Kumar Satpathy and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2020-11-28 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar PV Power: Design, Manufacturing and Applications from Sand to Systems details developments in the solar cell manufacturing process, including information from system design straight through to the entire value chain of Solar PV Manufacturing. In addition, the book includes aspects of ground mounted grid connected solar PV systems and optimization for solar PV plants, economic analyses, and reliability and performance. The advances and processes of solar product technology and reliability, along with the performance of solar PV plants and operational and maintenance aspects with advance diagnostic techniques are also presented, making this an ideal resource. With rapid change in the manufacturing process, it is crucial for solar cells and solar PV modules to adapt to new developments in solar products, especially with regard to reliability, financial aspects and performance. - Includes detailed solar panel module assembly and analysis - Offers new concepts for solar PV system design that are presented alongside field related issues and examples - Saves time and resources by collecting all pieces of information needed by engineers in the same text

Download or read book Silicon Materials Task of the Low cost Solar array Project Effect of Impurities and Processing on Silicon Solar Cells Final Report written by and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The object of the program has been to investigate the effects of various processes, metal contaminants, and contaminant-process interactions on the properties of silicon and on the performance of terrestrial silicon solar cells. The study has encompassed topics such as thermochemical (gettering) treatments, base-doping concentration, base-doping type (n vs. p), grain boundary-impurity interaction in polycrystalline devices, and long-term effects of impurities and impurity impacts on high-efficiency cells, as well as a preliminary evaluation of some potential low-cost silicon materials. The effects have been studied of various metallic impurities, introduced singly or in combination into Czochralski, float zone, and polycrystalline silicon ingots and into silicon ribbons grown by the dendritic web process. The solar cell data indicate that impurity-induced performance loss is caused primarily by a reduction in base diffusion length. An analytical model based on this observation has been developed and verified experimentally for both n- and p-base material. Studies of polycrystalline ingots containing impurities indicate that solar cell behavior is species sensitive and that a fraction of the impurities are segregated to the grain boundaries. HCl and POCl gettering improve the performance of single-crystal solar cells containing Fe, Cr, and Ti. In contrast Mo-doped material is barely affected. The efficiencies of solar cells fabricated on impurity-doped wafers is lower when the front junction is formed by ion implantation than when conventional diffusion techniques are used. For most impurity-doped solar cells stability is expected for projected times beyond 20 years. Feedstock impurity concentrations below one part per million for elements like V, or 100 parts per million for more benign impurities like Cu or Ni, will be required.

Download or read book Lifetime Spectroscopy written by Stefan Rein and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-11-25 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lifetime spectroscopy is one of the most sensitive diagnostic tools for the identification and analysis of impurities in semiconductors. Since it is based on the recombination process, it provides insight into precisely those defects that are relevant to semiconductor devices such as solar cells. This book introduces a transparent modeling procedure that allows a detailed theoretical evaluation of the spectroscopic potential of the different lifetime spectroscopic techniques. The various theoretical predictions are verified experimentally with the context of a comprehensive study on different metal impurities. The quality and consistency of the spectroscopic results, as explained here, confirms the excellent performance of lifetime spectroscopy.

Download or read book Crystal Growth and Evaluation of Silicon for VLSI and ULSI written by Golla Eranna and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2014-12-08 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Silicon, as a single-crystal semiconductor, has sparked a revolution in the field of electronics and touched nearly every field of science and technology. Though available abundantly as silica and in various other forms in nature, silicon is difficult to separate from its chemical compounds because of its reactivity. As a solid, silicon is chemically inert and stable, but growing it as a single crystal creates many technological challenges. Crystal Growth and Evaluation of Silicon for VLSI and ULSI is one of the first books to cover the systematic growth of silicon single crystals and the complete evaluation of silicon, from sand to useful wafers for device fabrication. Written for engineers and researchers working in semiconductor fabrication industries, this practical text: Describes different techniques used to grow silicon single crystals Explains how grown single-crystal ingots become a complete silicon wafer for integrated-circuit fabrication Reviews different methods to evaluate silicon wafers to determine suitability for device applications Analyzes silicon wafers in terms of resistivity and impurity concentration mapping Examines the effect of intentional and unintentional impurities Explores the defects found in regular silicon-crystal lattice Discusses silicon wafer preparation for VLSI and ULSI processing Crystal Growth and Evaluation of Silicon for VLSI and ULSI is an essential reference for different approaches to the selection of the basic silicon-containing compound, separation of silicon as metallurgical-grade pure silicon, subsequent purification, single-crystal growth, and defects and evaluation of the deviations within the grown crystals.