Stress‐enhanced dislocation density reduction in multicrystalline silicon

Stress is generally perceived to be detrimental for multicrystalline silicon (mc‐Si), leading to dislocation multiplication during crystal growth and processing. Herein, we evaluate the role of stress as a driving force for dislocation density reduction in mc‐Si. At high temperatures, close to the melting point (>0.8T_m), we observe that the application of stress as well as the relief of residual stress, can modify the density of pre‐existing dislocations in as‐grown mc‐Si under certain conditions, leading to a net local reduction of dislocation density. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)