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Determination of grain orientations in multicrystalline silicon by reflectometry

Multicrystalline silicon solar cells typically have a grain size of order mm or cm. The ability to texture the surface to absorb light efficiently depends upon grain orientation. Existing techniques to determine orientations have limited throughput and require delicate sample preparation, and so wafer manufacturers have no easy way of monitoring grain orientation. This work, which had financial support from a wafer manufacturer, provides a low cost straightforward method of determining grain orientations suitable for use in an industrial environment.