Growth of high-quality multi-crystalline silicon ingot by using Si particles embedded in the Si3N4 layer

• Published in: Journal of crystal growth Vol. 546; p. 125774
• Main Authors: Lei, Qi, He, Liang, Ming, Liang, Tang, Changxin, Rao, Senlin, Zhou, Lang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.09.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: A1. Directional solidification; A1. Dislocation; A1. Nucleation; B3. Solar cells; Carrier lifetime; Crystal defects; Crystal structure; Crystallinity; Ingots; Minority carriers; Nucleation; Photodegradation; Photovoltaic cells; Silicon; Silicon nitride; Solar cells; A1. Directional solidification; A1. Nucleation; A1. Dislocation; B3. Solar cells
• ISSN: 0022-0248; 1873-5002
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2020.125774

•Si particles embedded in the Si3N4 layer as cost-effective seeds for growing high- quality mc-Si was introduced.•The ingot yield was increased by approximately 7% due to the significantly reduced red zone length.•The solar cells fabricated with the experiment wafers can achieve high cell efficiency and low LID level. This work proposes to utilize Si particles embedded in Si3N4 layer as low-cost seeds to produce high-quality multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) ingot by full-melting process. The nucleation mechanism and its effects on minority carrier lifetime distribution, PL defects and oxygen concentration were studied. The results show that the incompletely melted silicon particles embedded in the Si3N4 layer can effectively nucleate fine grains with uniform size and few defects. The yield of experiment ingot can be significantly increased due to the quite short length of bottom red zone. Finally, the prepared solar cells can also achieve high conversion efficiency and show low light-induced degradation (LID) value.