An investigation was made of the influence of the cooling rate, upon the dislocation density in multicrystalline silicon, using the unidirectional solidification process for solar cells. The results showed that the maximum value of dislocation density was decreased and that of residual stress was increased by a rapid-cooling process. These phenomena were attributed to the difference in dwell time at an elevated temperature for multiplication of dislocations.

Numerical Analysis of Cooling Rate Dependence on Dislocation Density in Multicrystalline Silicon for Solar Cells. S.Nakano, X.J.Chen, B.Gao, K.Kakimoto: Journal of Crystal Growth, 2011, 318[1], 280-2