ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

In situ mitigation of muon-induced defects in high lifetime crystalline silicon

Abstract: Crystalline silicon is used in >90% of solar cells in production, and requires both high quality material and a good understanding of the charge carrier behaviour within. Muon-based techniques are valuable tools to probe the charge carrier behaviour. However, previous muon experiments demonstrated that high-lifetime crystalline silicon could be damaged on exposure to muons, with formation of defects in the form of electron traps. These defects can be overcome by post-exposure processing, including annealing and deposition of passivating dielectrics (i.e., Al2O3). In this proposal, we seek to modify the experimental setup for silicon experiments ? exposing high lifetime silicon to muons at elevated temperatures, within a hydrogen-rich environment, or both ? to determine whether these defects can be ?repaired? in situ.

Principal Investigator: Dr Sophie Pain
Experimenter: Ms Anup Yadav
Experimenter: Mr Brendan Healy
Local Contact: Dr Koji Yokoyama
Experimenter: Dr James Lord
Experimenter: Professor John Murphy
Experimenter: Dr Nicholas Grant

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510197

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2510197

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Sophie Pain et al; (2025): In situ mitigation of muon-induced defects in high lifetime crystalline silicon, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2510197

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.