Inhomogeneous in-plane distribution of preferential glide planes of β dislocations in a metamorphic InGaAs solar cell

By using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, we investigated the in-plane distribution of preferential glide planes in a metamorphic InGaAs solar cell with a relatively low open-circuit voltage (V-oc) compared to other cells fabricated on the same wafer. The reciprocal-space maps revealed that the low-V-oc cell contains several domains with different preferential glide planes of beta dislocations. Since fluctuations of the average beta-glide plane have not been observed for high-V-oc cells, the observed inhomogeneous distribution should be related to the V-oc degradation. Understanding preferential glide-plane changes within a cell can help to improve the uniformity of cell properties over the whole wafer.

Automated summary

Using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, a study found that a low open-circuit voltage (V-oc) solar cell exhibits inhomogeneous distribution of different preferential glide planes compared to high-V-oc cells. Understanding the changes in preferential glide planes within a cell can help improve the uniformity of cell properties over the entire wafer.