Title:
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Quantifying surface damage by measuring mechanical strength of silicon wafers
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Author(s):
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Published by:
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Publication date:
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ECN
Solar Energy
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1-6-2005
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ECN report number:
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Document type:
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ECN-RX--05-010
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Conference Paper
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Number of pages:
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Full text:
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4
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Download PDF
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Presented at: 20th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Barcelona, Spain, 6-10 juni 2005.
Abstract:
Ring
on ring test geometry reveals the great importance of the saw damage
on the mechanical stability of as-cut and textured wafers. The initial
surface defects make big and unexpected differences in the strength
after a standard industrial acid etch. The measuring technique is very
sensitive to the surface of the wafers rather than the edge. The influence
of bulk defects is excluded too, by analysing the strength of wafers
from different manufacturers. It permits to focus on the modification
of mechanical stability by adaptations of, e.g., wafering or chemical
treatment. The apparent critical crack length is introduced as an intuitive
parameter to quantify the surface damage.
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