The relationship between microstructure and dislocation density distribution in multicrystalline silicon

Abstract

The investigation of the grain structure is important to understand the origin of dislocations during crystal growth of multicrystalline silicon. This paper studies the dislocation density distribution for different grain orientations that occur during crystal growth. Single grains are analyzed in detail, including their microstructure. The grain orientations are determined by means of the electron backscatter diffraction technique. The obtained information reveals grain orientations, which allow a higher number of active slip planes during crystal growth process. The number of active slip planes during solidification seems to influence the dislocation density in the final crystal.