The photovoltaic industry has grown fast the recent
years, but the price per watt has not jet reached
grid parity. A further increase in solar cell
efficiency is therefore needed. It is suggested in
this work that the main quality problem in
multicrystalline silicon wafers is the existence of
dislocation clusters covering large wafer areas.
Dislocation formation mechanisms such as punch-out
from precipitates with a thermal expansion
coefficient different from that of the silicon
matrix, intergranular - and intragranular hardening
and development of strain fields due to differences...