A multilayer nucleation model for twinning during directional solidification of multi-crystalline silicon
Journal
Journal of Crystal Growth
Journal Volume
478
Pages
47-51
Date Issued
2017
Author(s)
Abstract
Twin nucleation is an important phenomenon in the directional solidification of photovoltaic multi-crystalline silicon. Unfortunately, the models proposed so far were not sufficient to explain the small undercooling (<1 K) for twinning observed in the experiments. In this paper, we propose a multilayer nucleation mechanism for twinning during silicon directional solidification. When the nucleus contains more than one layer, the free energy of formation for the nucleus can be reduced. As a result, the critical radius decreases and the twinning probability increases. The required undercooling for twinning based on the present model could be reduced to around 0.4–0.6 K, which is much more consistent with the experimental observations. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.
Subjects
A1. Multi-layer model; A1. Nucleation; A1. Planar defects; A1. Twinning; B2. Semiconducting silicon
SDGs
Other Subjects
Crystalline materials; Free energy; Multilayers; Nucleation; Semiconducting silicon; Silicon; Solidification; Undercooling; Critical radius; Free energy of formations; Multi-crystalline silicon; Multilayer models; Nucleation mechanism; Nucleation models; Planar defect; Twin nucleations; Twinning
Type
journal article