A detailed 3-dimensional numerical simulation was made of the temperature distribution inside a crystallization chamber, and a model for dislocation generation by thermal stresses was used to calculate dislocation densities throughout a multicrystalline ingot. The initial results were in good qualitative agreement with large-area dislocation-density measurements.

Low dislocation-density multicrystalline silicon for photovoltaic applications C.Hässler, E.U.Reisner, W.Koch, A.Müller, D.Franke, T.Rettelbach: Solid State Phenomena, 1999, 67-68, 447-52