Gettering of Fe by aluminum in p-type Cz silicon

In this study, we investigate the gettering process of Fe in p-type Cz silicon after iron has been introduced at the solubility limit at 1000°C. Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) was used to measure [FeB], a fingerprint of [Fe_i], at the center of samples. The minority carrier diffusion length and lifetime were calculated from Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC) measurements. The fact that [FeB] is proportional to the negative second power of the minority carrier diffusion length at the high [FeB] regime confirms that FeB donors are the dominant recombination centers limiting solar cell performance with high Fe contamination. By quenching after heat treatment, we can maintain and measure the kinetics and thermodynamics of gettering exclusively. The getter/silicon interface was studied by comparison of the gettering rates of molten Al at 620°C, 700°C, and 800°C, and iron silicide at 700°C. We model Fe gettering with respect to temperature, time, solubility and precipitate nuclei density. In the early stage of Fe gettering, the process is dominated by precipitate formation around oxygen precipitate nuclei. The precipitate density is estimated to be on the order of 5×10⁸cm^-3. In later stages, Fe outdiffusion contributes to the [Fe_i] reduction. The early stage precipitation limits [Fe_i] reduction after short time to the solubility at the gettering temperature.