Multicrystalline silicon was characterised by extended defects like dislocations and grain boundaries. Grain boundaries in this material could show radiative recombination in the near-infrared region even at room temperature. Here, the results of further investigations, using the electroluminescence method, regarding these phenomena were presented. It was found that carrier recombination at these centres was negligible. From temperature-dependent measurements, the activation energies of the various centres were deduced. Defect schemes were proposed for the grain boundary luminescence.

Defect Luminescence at Grain Boundaries in Multicrystalline Silicon. F.Dreckschmidt, H.J.Möller: Physica Status Solidi C, 2011, 8[4], 1356–60