SEM Investigation of the electrical properties of silicon ribbons

Abstract

The structure and electrical properties of silicon ribbons grown on a substrate by the Ribbon Growth on Substrate (RGS) method method for solar cell applications have been investigated in secondary electron and electron beam induced current modes of scanning electron microscopy. The growth method and growth conditions have provided the formation of the coarse-grained structure of silicon, in which the majority of grains are separated by twin boundaries and the dislocation density does not exceed 106 cm−2. According to the electron beam induced current investigations, the recombination contrast from twin boundaries is extremely low at 300 K, only a small amount of twin boundaries show an increase in the contrast upon cooling, and the contrast from dislocations is almost absent in the temperature range from 100 to 300 K.