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Self-sustained cyclic tin induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2015

Volodymyr B. Neimash ,
Alexander O. Goushcha ,
Petro Y. Shepeliavyi ,
Volodymyr O. Yukhymchuk ,
Viktor A. Danko ,
Viktor V. Melnyk  and
Andrey G. Kuzmich
Volodymyr B. Neimash*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics of Radiation Processes, Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Pr., Kyiv 03028, Ukraine
Alexander O. Goushcha*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics of Radiation Processes, Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Pr., Kyiv 03028, Ukraine
Petro Y. Shepeliavyi
Affiliation:
Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Pr., Kyiv 03028, Ukraine
Volodymyr O. Yukhymchuk
Affiliation:
Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Pr., Kyiv 03028, Ukraine
Viktor A. Danko
Affiliation:
Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Nauky Pr., Kyiv 03028, Ukraine
Viktor V. Melnyk
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physics, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv 01601, Ukraine
Andrey G. Kuzmich
Affiliation:
Faculty of Physics, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv 01601, Ukraine
*
b)e-mail: neimash@gmail.com
a)Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: goushcha@cox.net
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Abstract

Experimental evidences for a recently proposed mechanism of tin-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon are presented. The mechanism discusses a crystalline phase growth through cyclic processes of formation and decay of a super-saturated solution of silicon in molten tin at the interface with the amorphous silicon. The suggested mechanism is validated using a nonlinear dynamical model that takes into account the mass diffusion of the components of the system, heat transfer caused by latent (crystallization) heat release and amorphous silicon dissolution events, and concentration nonuniformities created by silicon crystallization. The analysis of a stationary-state solution of the model confirms the existence of periodic solutions for the partial volume of the crystalline phase and other system's variables. Possible applications of the proposed mechanism in manufacturing of cost-effective nanocrystalline silicon films for the third-generation solar cell technology are discussed.

Keywords

crystalline Siamorphous Sinanoscale
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 30 , Issue 20 , 28 October 2015 , pp. 3116 - 3124
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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References

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