The measurement of impurities in silicon for solar cell production

The power conversion efficiency of solar cells is largely dependent on impurity levels in silicon. In the current investigations two sample preparation methods of silicon had been used before analysis - acid dissolution at atmospheric pressure and pressured microwave assisted technique. Quantification of impurities in solar silicon was done by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and electrothermal atomic spectrometry. Microwave assisted dissolution of solar silicon was more effective compared to the traditional dissolution method on the hot plate, but complete dissolution of impurities and silicon matrix was achieved with a nitric and hydrofluoric acid mixture. The mass of solar silicon for the microwave dissolution is about 0.5 g and optimal ratio of HF and HNO₃ acids mixture is 3 to 5.