Origin of recombination activity at small angle grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon using multi-seed casting growth method

The effect of misorientation on the recombination activity of tilt small angle grain boundaries was studied by temperature-dependent electron beam induced current (EBIC) analyses of artificially induced grain boundaries in multicrystal grown by casting from multiple seeds. For small misorientation, there is no significant difference in the recombination of grain boundaries at the middle of a grown ingot, whereas moderate contamination on grain boundaries caused changes in the EBIC contrast, especially at room temperature. The EBIC contrast of moderately contaminated grain boundaries at room temperature has a peak at a misorientation of ∼3°, and for misorientation θ > 6°, the recombinative nature diminishes with increasing misorientation. The results indicate differences in the gettering ability of small angle grain boundaries.