Influence of interfacial structure on propagating direction of small-angle grain boundaries during directional solidification of multicrystalline silicon

Abstract

Small-angle grain boundary (SAGB) growth in multicrystalline Si was observed in situ during directional solidification, and the misorientation and boundary structure were analyzed by electron backscatter diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It was found that SAGBs change their orientation in order to reduce the number of grain boundary dislocations and thus the energy. This suggests that grain boundary dislocations have an influence on SAGB behavior during solidification.