In broad terms, this thesis is concerned with the measurement and interpretation of carrier lifetimes in multicrystalline silicon. An understanding of these lifetimes in turn leads to a clearer picture of the limiting mechanisms in solar cells made with this promising material, and points to possible paths for improvement. The work falls into three broad categories: gettering, trapping and recombination. A further section discusses a powerful new technique for characterising impurities in semiconductors in general, and provides an example of its application. Gettering of recombination centres in multicrystalline silicon wafers improves the bulk lifetime, often considerably. Although not employed deliberately in most commercial cell processes, gettering nevertheless occurs to some extent during emitter formation, and so may have an important impact on cell performance. However, the response of different wafers to gettering is quite variable, and in some cases is non-existent. Work in this thesis shows that the response to gettering is best when the dislocation density is low and the density of mobile impurities is high. For Eurosolare material these conditions prevail at the bottom and to a lesser extent in the middle of an ingot. However, these conclusions can not always be applied to multicrystalline silicon produced by other manufacturers. Low resistivity multicrystalline silicon suffers from a concurrent thermally induced degradation of the lifetime. This had previously been attributed to the dissolution of precipitated metals, although we note that the crystallographic quality also appears to deteriorate. The thermal degradation effect results in an optimum gettering time for low resistivity material. Edge-defined Film-fed Growth (EFG) ribbon silicon was also found to respond to gettering, and even more so to bulk hydrogenation. Evidence for Cu contamination in the as-grown EFG wafers is presented. Multicrystalline silicon is often plagued by trapping effects, which can make lifetime measurement in the injection-level range of interest very difficult, and sometimes impossible. An old model based on centres that trap and release minority carriers, but do not interact with majority carriers, was found to provide a good explanation for these effects. These trapping states were linked with the presence of dislocations and also with boron-impurity complexes. Their annealing behaviour and lack of impact on device parameters can be explained in terms of the models developed. The trapping model allowed a recently proposed method for correcting trap-affected data to be tested using typical values of the trapping parameters. The correction method was found to extend the range of useable data to approximately an order of magnitude lower in terms of carrier density than would be available otherwise, an improvement that could prove useful in many practical cases. High efficiency PERL and PERC cells made on gettered multicrystalline silicon resulted in devices with open circuit voltages in the 640mV range that were almost entirely limited by bulk recombination. Furthermore, the injection-level dependence of the bulk lifetime resulted in decreased fill factors. Modelling showed that these effects are even more pronounced for cells dominated by interstitial iron recombination centres. Analysis of a commercial multicrystalline cell fabrication process revealed that recombination in the emitter created the most stringent limit on the open circuit voltage, followed by the bulk and the rear surface. The fill factors of these commercial cells were mostly affected by series resistance, although some reduction due to injection-level dependent lifetimes seems likely also. Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy on gettered layers of multicrystalline silicon revealed the presence of Cr and Fe in considerable quantities. Further evidence strongly implied that they resided almost exclusively as precipitates. More generally, injection-level dependent lifetime measurements offer the prospect of powerful contamination-monitoring tools, provided that the impurities are well characterised in terms of their energy levels and capture cross-sections. Conversely, lifetime measurements can assist with this process of characterising impurities, since they are extremely sensitive to their presence. This possibility is explored in this thesis, and a new technique, dubbed Injection-level Dependent Lifetime Spectroscopy (IDLS) is developed. To test its potential, the method was applied to the well-known case of FeB pairs in boron-doped silicon. The results indicate that the technique can offer much greater accuracy than more conventional DLTS methods, and may find applications in microelectronics as well as photovoltaics.

Two novel pump/probe techniques have been developed for measuring the recombination lifetime in crystalline silicon wafers. The first technique, single-beam pump/probe, uses one laser as both pump and probe. The second technique, quasi-steady state free-carrier absorption, measures lifetime under quasi-steady state conditions. These techniques are supported by a general mathematical model that predicts the experimental signal accounting for the 3D charge-carrier transport and recombination within the semiconductor. The predictions of the model are validated experimentally, and quantitative agreement is found between the model and experimental results for both techniques. The recombination lifetime measured by these techniques is verified independently using a standard pump/probe method, and the results are in agreement with this work. Single-beam pump/probe is a first-time demonstration of a technique capable of measuring lifetime in silicon using a single laser beam. It dramatically simplifies traditional pump/probe measurements by completely eliminating the second laser beam. QSS-FCA is the first quasi-steady state technique that can be calibrated in situ without the requirement of a calibrated reference wafer. The calibration constant is the free-carrier absorption cross section of silicon, which is a material constant. QSS-FCA is able to measure this cross section to a higher precision than what has been reported in the literature. Precise measurement of this constant opens up the possibility of studying more fundamental physics of silicon using QSS-FCA. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

At the moment, when energy and environmental issues are of concerned in our society, photovoltaic technology has received tremendous development and demand. Because carrier lifetime and diffusion coefficient are the important indicators to determine the recombination level, which influences the efficiency of solar cells to a large extent, they are regarded as key in choosing solar cell materials. A technique for effective lifetime measurement, modulated free-carrier absorption (FCA), can extract lifetime and diffusion coefficient simultaneously, which is supported by a general mathematical model that predicts the experimental signal accounting for the 3-dimensional (3D) charge-carrier transport and recombination within the semiconductor. A single mode 1064 nm laser modulated by an EO modulator is used as the pump and a 2050 nm modulated LED is used as probe in this experiment as the pump/probe parts. An IR camera detects the frequency-domain diffusion image from the tested silicon sample at the tested frequency range between 1 kHz to 200 kHz and the lifetime can be extracted by frequency-domain free-carrier concentration equation, which is a Lorentzian model. By simulating the diffusion data from the camera with the 3D free-carrier absorption model, we can extract lifetime and diffusion coefficient simultaneously. The fitted lifetime from frequency-domain free-carrier absorption equation is 33.5 ± 1.3 μs, and the fitted lifetime from this 3D FCA model is 32.8 ± 1.5 μs, which match to within the error bars. The fitted diffusion coefficient from this 3D FCA model is 15.6 ± 0.7 cm2/s, which agrees with the theoretical value of 16 cm2/s for silicon. Good quantitative agreement is found among the model, experimental data, and theory. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

No description available.

Aukštųjų energijų fizikos eksperimentuose plačiai taikomi puslaidininkiniai pin struktūros dalelių detektoriai jonizuojančiosioms dalelėms registruoti. Radiacinė spinduliuotė sukuria defektus medžiagoje ir neigiamai įtakoja detektorių parametrus, todėl būtina charakterizuoti apšvitintus detektorius ieškant būdų, kaip juos patobulinti. Apšvitintų detektorių charakterizavimui taikomi volt-amperinių, volt-faradinių būdingųjų dydžių matavimai ir analizė, giliųjų lygmenų talpinė bei šiluma skatinamų srovių spektroskopija. Tačiau stipriai apšvitintuose detektoriuose, kai defektų koncentracija viršija legirantų koncentraciją bei išauga nuotėkio srovė, šie metodai negali būti taikomi siekiant korektiškai įvertinti radiacinių defektų parametrus. Šiame darbe buvo sukurti modeliai, apibūdinantys slinkties sroves, tekančias detektoriuje dėl elektrinio lauko persiskirstymo keičiantis išorinei įtampai arba elektriniame lauke judant injektuotam krūviui. Šie modeliai buvo pritaikyti naujų metodikų sukūrimui, kurios įgalina įvertinti krūvio pernašos, pagavimo, rekombinacijos/generacijos parametrus stipriai apšvitintuose detektoriuose po apšvitos. Sukurti metodai buvo pritaikyti defektų spektroskopijai ir skersinei žvalgai sluoksninėse struktūrose bei defektų evoliucijos tyrimams apšvitos metu. Disertacijoje pateikti ir aptarti apšvitintų detektorių ir apšvitos metu pasireiškiančios parametrų kaitos rezultatai. Elektronikos grandynuose plačiai naudojami galios pin struktūros diodai, kurie... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In high energy physics experiments the semiconductor particle detectors of pin structure are commonly employed for tracking of the ionising particles. However, ionising radiation creates defects and consequently affects the parameters of particle detectors. Therefore, it is necessary to characterize irradiated detectors and search for the new approaches on how to suppress or control the degradation process. Measurements of current-voltage, capacitance-voltage characteristics as well as deep level transient spectroscopy, thermally stimulated currents spectroscopy are employed for the characterization of irradiated particle detectors. At high irradiation fluences when defects concentration exceeds that of dopants, a generation current increases and, thus, the above mentioned techniques can not be applied for the correct evaluation of defect parameters. In this work, models describing displacement currents in detectors due to redistribution of electric field determined by variations of external voltage or a moving charge in electric field are discussed. These models were applied for creation of the advanced techniques which allow evaluating of charge transport, trapping and recombination/generation parameters in heavily irradiated detectors after irradiation. These techniques were applied for the spectroscopy of deep levels associated with defects, for cross-sectional scans within layered junction structures as well as for examination of defects evolution during irradiation. In... [to full text]

In high energy physics experiments the semiconductor particle detectors of pin structure are commonly employed for tracking of the ionising particles. However, ionising radiation creates defects and consequently affects the parameters of particle detectors. Therefore, it is necessary to characterize irradiated detectors and search for the new approaches on how to suppress or control the degradation process. Measurements of current-voltage, capacitance-voltage characteristics as well as deep level transient spectroscopy, thermally stimulated currents spectroscopy are employed for the characterization of irradiated particle detectors. At high irradiation fluences when defects concentration exceeds that of dopants, a generation current increases and, thus, the above mentioned techniques can not be applied for the correct evaluation of defect parameters. In this work, models describing displacement currents in detectors due to redistribution of electric field determined by variations of external voltage or a moving charge in electric field are discussed. These models were applied for creation of the advanced techniques which allow evaluating of charge transport, trapping and recombination/generation parameters in heavily irradiated detectors after irradiation. These techniques were applied for the spectroscopy of deep levels associated with defects, for cross-sectional scans within layered junction structures as well as for examination of defects evolution during irradiation. In... [to full text] / Aukštųjų energijų fizikos eksperimentuose plačiai taikomi puslaidininkiniai pin struktūros dalelių detektoriai jonizuojančiosioms dalelėms registruoti. Radiacinė spinduliuotė sukuria defektus medžiagoje ir neigiamai įtakoja detektorių parametrus, todėl būtina charakterizuoti apšvitintus detektorius ieškant būdų, kaip juos patobulinti. Apšvitintų detektorių charakterizavimui taikomi volt-amperinių, volt-faradinių būdingųjų dydžių matavimai ir analizė, giliųjų lygmenų talpinė bei šiluma skatinamų srovių spektroskopija. Tačiau stipriai apšvitintuose detektoriuose, kai defektų koncentracija viršija legirantų koncentraciją bei išauga nuotėkio srovė, šie metodai negali būti taikomi siekiant korektiškai įvertinti radiacinių defektų parametrus. Šiame darbe buvo sukurti modeliai, apibūdinantys slinkties sroves, tekančias detektoriuje dėl elektrinio lauko persiskirstymo keičiantis išorinei įtampai arba elektriniame lauke judant injektuotam krūviui. Šie modeliai buvo pritaikyti naujų metodikų sukūrimui, kurios įgalina įvertinti krūvio pernašos, pagavimo, rekombinacijos/generacijos parametrus stipriai apšvitintuose detektoriuose po apšvitos. Sukurti metodai buvo pritaikyti defektų spektroskopijai ir skersinei žvalgai sluoksninėse struktūrose bei defektų evoliucijos tyrimams apšvitos metu. Disertacijoje pateikti ir aptarti apšvitintų detektorių ir apšvitos metu pasireiškiančios parametrų kaitos rezultatai. Elektronikos grandynuose plačiai naudojami galios pin struktūros diodai, kurie... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

No description available.

Etwa die Hälfte aller Solarzellen weltweit wird aus blockerstarrtem Silizium hergestellt. Derartige Blöcke weisen in ihren Außenbereichen eine verringerte Diffusionslänge der Minoritätsladungsträger auf. Um die Ursache dafür im Fall des bodennahen Bereichs zu bestimmen wurden zwei Spezialblöcke (ein Block mit reduzierter Bor-Dotierung und ein Block mit Phosphor-Dotierung) - u. a. mittels DLTS und FTIR - auf Kristalldefekte untersucht. Zusätzlich zu Dotierelementen (B, P, Al, As) wurden im Bodenbereich folgende Defekte nachgewiesen: <u>Metalle</u>: Fe, Cr <u>Sauerstoffhaltige Defekte</u>: Interstitieller Sauerstoff, Thermische Donatoren (TD), O1, O2 <u>Stickstoffhaltige Defekte</u>: NN-Paar, NNO-Komplex, Shallow Thermal Donors (STD) <u>Ausgedehnte Defekte</u>: Versetzungen, Ausscheidungen, Korngrenzen. Die Verteilung der flachen Donatoren (P, TD, STD, As) und Akzeptoren (B, Al) bestimmt den Widerstandsverlauf im bodennahen Bereich des Phosphor dotierten Spezialblocks. Das dortige Diffusionslängenprofil kann im Rahmen der Shockley-Read-Hall-Statistik erst durch eine Erhöhung des Minoritätseinfangquerschnitts für das Cr-Niveau (Faktor 5) bzw. für das STD-Niveau (Faktor 10) nachgezeichnet werden. Eisen, Versetzungen und Korngrenzen haben hier keinen wesentlichen Einfluss. In den untersten Millimetern des Spezialblocks müssen weitere Defekte hinzukommen, die die Diffusionslänge zusätzlich reduzieren; Thermische Donatoren und O1 und eventuell Ausscheidungen kommen dazu in Frage. Die sinngemäße Übertragung der Konzentrationsverläufe aus den beiden Spezialblöcken auf einen Block mit einer produktionsüblichen Dotierung ([B]≈10^{<small>16</small>}/cm^{<small>3</small>}) ergibt, dass in diesem Fall verschiedene Defekte (TD, STD, CrB und FeB) einen Beitrag zur Diffusionslängenreduktion im bodennahen Blockbereich liefern.