Book Description

A Laser Scanner System (LSS) produces a photoresponse map and can be used for the nondestructive detection of nonuniformities in the photoresponse of a semiconductor device. At SERI the photoresponse maps are used to identify solar cell faults including microcracks, metallization breaks, regions of poor contact between metallization and the underlying emitter surface, and variations in emitter sheet resistance. The SERI LSS is patterned after the LSS unit documented in the NBS Special Publication 400-24 A Laser Scanner for Semiconductor Devices by D.E. Sawyer and D.W. Berning. Assuming reader familiarity with the above publication, the modifications introduced by SERI are specified with the intention that the two reports can be used to reproduce the SERI LSS. The optical and electronic systems are reviewed, briefly discussing the significant items of each. The most notable difference between the two systems is the SERI substitution of commercially available state-of-the-art modular electronics for the discreet component circuitry used in the NBS LSS.