An organizer for silicon

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Organization in the gap: a covering layer of aluminum lowers the crystallization temperature of amorphous silicon (a-Si). First the a-Si covers the grain boundaries in the aluminum layer (A1). Once the covering a-Si film has reached a critical thickn ...
Organization in the gap: a covering layer of aluminum lowers the crystallization temperature of amorphous silicon (a-Si). First the a-Si covers the grain boundaries in the aluminum layer (A1). Once the covering a-Si film has reached a critical thickness, crystallization starts at the grain boundaries. Image: Max Planck Institute of Metals Research
Organizers make life easier; aluminum could help the semi-conductor industry to convert silicon from a disordered to an ordered form at low temperatures. This crystalline silicon functions much more efficiently in solar cells, for example. However up to now it has only been possible to manufacture it at high temperatures and it could not therefore be applied to heat-sensitive materials such as plastic or paper.


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