Electronic properties of grain boundaries in polycrystalline silicon

The electrical characteristics of grain boundaries in polycrystalline silicon have been investigated. Experiments were performed using a focused laser beam to measure the GB parameters. Theoretical models of phonon-assisted and charge scattering processes are presented in relation to attenuation of the thermionic emission. The results indicate that the GB states behave as extrinsic impurity states which are not sensitive to the mis-orientation angle between grains. Both majority and minority carrier behavior are described