Numerical analysis of thermal stress and dislocation density distributions in large size multi-crystalline silicon ingots during the seeded growth process

Thi Hoai Thu Nguyen, Jyh Chen Chen, Chieh Hu, Chun Hung Chen, Yen Hao Huang, Huang Wei Lin, Andy Yu, Bruce Hsu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, a global transient numerical simulation of silicon growth from the beginning of the solidification process until the end of the cooling process is carried out modeling the growth of an 800 kg ingot in an industrial seeded directional solidification furnace. The standard furnace is modified by the addition of insulating blocks in the hot zone. The simulation results show that there is a significant decrease in the thermal stress and dislocation density in the modified model as compared to the standard one (a maximal decrease of 23% and 75% along the center line of ingot for thermal stress and dislocation density, respectively). This modification reduces the heating power consumption for solidification of the silicon melt by about 17% and shortens the growth time by about 2.5 h. Moreover, it is found that adjusting the operating conditions of modified model to obtain the lower growth rate during the early stages of the solidification process can lower dislocation density and total heater power.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)316-320
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Crystal Growth
Volume468
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jun 2017

Keywords

  • A1. Computer simulation
  • A1. Directional solidification
  • A1. Stresses
  • B3. Solar cells

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