**5. Application**

Silicon materials are used in components of electronic devices. It is also used to make solar cells [9–13] and parts for computer circuits [14]. Solar cell is a device

**3**

**Author details**

Batna, Algeria

Beddiaf Zaidi\* and Slimen Belghit

provided the original work is properly cited.

\*Address all correspondence to: zbeddiaf@gmail.com

*Introductory Chapter: Silicon*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85802*

that converts sun light into electrical energy [15–23]. A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current to direct current. The most important silicon alloys are those made with Fe, Al, and Cu. When silicon is produced, in fact,

scrap iron and metal are sometimes added to the furnace [24, 25].

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

Department of Physics, Faculty of Material Sciences, University of Batna 1,

*Introductory Chapter: Silicon DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85802*

*Silicon Materials*

**4. Silicon thin film**

**Figure 1.**

nation of these materials [2–5]:

2.Microcrystalline silicon

3.Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si).

*E(k) for the conduction and valence bands of silicon.*

*Grain size range depending on the type of the silicon [6–8].*

Silicon thin-film cells are mainly deposited by chemical vapor deposition (typically plasma-enhanced, PE-CVD) from silane gas and hydrogen gas. Depending on the deposition parameters, these silicon thin films can be based on one or a combi-

These silicon thin film materials can be characterized by their grain sizes ranging from none (amorphous) to large silicon (~100 μm) for polysilicon. The crystalline silicon thin films present dangling bonds, which result in deep defects (energy levels in band gap) as well as deformation of the conduction and valence bands. The solar cells made from thin films tend to have lower energy conversion efficiency than

**Type of silicon Abbreviation Crystal size Deposition method** Single-crystal silicon Sc-Si >10 cm Czochralski, Float zone Multicrystalline silicon Mc-Si 1 mm–10 cm Cast, sheet, ribbon Polycrystalline silicon Poly-Si 1 μm–1 mm Chemical-vapor deposition (at high

Microcrystalline silicon μc-Si 10 nm–1 μm Ex.: Plasma deposition (at low temperature < 600°C) Nanocrystalline silicon nc-Si 1–10 nm

Silicon materials are used in components of electronic devices. It is also used to make solar cells [9–13] and parts for computer circuits [14]. Solar cell is a device

temperature ≥ 1000°C)

1.Amorphous silicon (a-Si or a-Si:H) or polymorphous silicon

silicon bulk but are also less expensive to produce (**Table 1**).

**2**

**5. Application**

**Table 1.**

that converts sun light into electrical energy [15–23]. A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current to direct current. The most important silicon alloys are those made with Fe, Al, and Cu. When silicon is produced, in fact, scrap iron and metal are sometimes added to the furnace [24, 25].
