Experimental and computational investigation of microcrack behavior under combined environments in monocrystalline Si

W.-J. Huang; S. Bringuier; J. Paul; K. Simmons-Potter; K. Muralidharan; B. G. Potter Jr.

doi:10.1117/12.2188521

23 September 2015 Experimental and computational investigation of microcrack behavior under combined environments in monocrystalline Si

W.-J. Huang, S. Bringuier, J. Paul, K. Simmons-Potter, K. Muralidharan, B. G. Potter Jr.

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9563, Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components, and Systems VIII; 956308 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2188521
Event: SPIE Optics + Photonics for Sustainable Energy, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

An investigation of microindenter-induced crack evolution with independent variation of both temperature and relative humidity has been pursued in PV-grade Si wafers. Under static tensile strain conditions, an increase in subcritical crack elongation with increasing atmospheric water content was observed. To provide further insight into the potential physical and chemical conditions at the microcrack tip, micro-Raman measurements were performed. Preliminary results confirm a spatial variation in the frequency of the primary Si vibrational resonance within the cracktip region, associated with local stress state, whose magnitude is influenced by environmental conditions during the period of applied static strain. The experimental effort was paired with molecular dynamics (MD) investigations of microcrack evolution in single-crystal Si to furnish additional insight into mechanical contributions to crack elongation. The MD results demonstrate that crack-tip energetics and associated crack elongation velocity and morphology are intimately related to the crack and applied strain orientations with respect to the principal crystallographic axes. The resulting elastic strain energy release rate and the stress-strain response of the Si under these conditions form the basis for preliminary micro-scale peridynamics (PD) simulations of microcrack development under constant applied strain. These efforts will be integrated with the experimental results to further inform the mechanisms contributing to this important degradation mode in Si-based photovoltaics.

Citation Download Citation

W.-J. Huang, S. Bringuier, J. Paul, K. Simmons-Potter, K. Muralidharan, and B. G. Potter Jr. "Experimental and computational investigation of microcrack behavior under combined environments in monocrystalline Si", Proc. SPIE 9563, Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components, and Systems VIII, 956308 (23 September 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2188521

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
13 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Silicon

Semiconducting wafers

Atmospheric propagation

Crystals

Micro raman spectroscopy

Systems modeling

Photovoltaics

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years