The atomic and electronic structure of the Σ=3 (211) twin boundary in Si

Energies and Atomic Structures of Grain Boundaries in Diamond: Comparison With Grain Boundaries in Silicon

Fairly different features of grain boundaries in diamond from those in Si were experimentally observed in diamond thin films. As the first step in order to understand the fundamental properties of grain boundaries in diamond, the energy and atomic structure of the {122} σ=9 tilt boundary have been calculated for the first time by using the tight-binding electronic theory. The results have been compared with the calculations of the same boundary and the {111} σ=3 boundary in Si. It has been shown that the σ=9 boundary in diamond has a very large interfacial energy caused by the large bond rigidity as compared with the boundaries in Si and the {111}σ=3 boundary in diamond. This point should be related to the observation that the {122}σ =9 boundary is rarely found in diamond thin films.

TEM Studies of Grain Boundary Structure in a Cast Polycrystalline Silicon

Cast polycrystalline silicon for solar cell contains mostly straight twin boundaries which are thought to have little effect on the electrical activity. There are, however, some complicated grain boundaries in it. One of these boundaries consists of slightly curved and straight parts. The structure of this boundary was analyzed to investigate the difference of these two types of boundaries. The conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) found that this slightly curved boundary was the zigzag shaped boundary made by (11 _ ,2) and ( _ ,211) planes. High resolution electron microscopy (HREM) confirmed that (11 _ ,2) plane was the boundary of {112} Σ3 twin boundary which formed a straight grain boundary at the other end of the analyzed grain boundary, and also confirmed that ( _ ,2 11) plane was also the boundary of {112} Σ3 twin boundary which intersected with the former twin boundary at an angle of 120 [deg].