Nano-XRF and micro-raman studies of metal impurity decoration around dislocations in multicrystalline silicon

We push the resolution limits of synchrotron-based nano-X-ray fluorescence mapping below 100 nm to investigate the fundamental differences between benign and deleterious dislocations in multicystalline silicon solar cells. We observe that after processing recombination-active dislocations contain a high degree of nanoscale iron and copper decoration, while recombination-inactive dislocations appear clean. To study the origins of the distinct metal decorations around different dislocations we analyze as-grown samples as well as specimens at different stages of processing. We complement our X-ray studies with micro-Raman mapping to understand the relationship between metallic decoration and stress fields around dislocations.