Liquinert quartz crucible for the growth of multicrystalline Si ingots

The growth of a multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) ingot for solar cell applications was attempted using a Liquinert quartz crucible. A mc-Si ingot was also grown in a quartz crucible coated with Si₃N₄ powder for comparison with that from the Liquinert quartz crucible. The mc-Si ingot grown in the Liquinert quartz crucible had a shinier surface which has few impurity particles and higher minority carrier lifetime than the mc-Si ingot grown in a quartz crucible coated with Si₃N₄ powder. These results indicate that contamination with impurities was reduced with the Liquinert quartz crucible; therefore, this crucible has the potential to be a powerful tool for the production of high-quality mc-Si ingots for solar cell applications.