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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Grain boundaries exert a profound influence on the electrical behavior of semiconductors. First order twin boundaries are the simplest and most common interfaces which occur in polysilicon. We have studied the dislocation structure and preferred boundary plane orientation of such twins by transmission electron microscopy. In addition, we have investigated the atomic structure of twin boundaries on {111} and {112} planes using an interference technique which permits the relative position of two lattices to be determined with a precision of about 0.05Å. Knowing the relative orientation and position of two crystals, together with the interface plane, permits the atomic configuration at the interface to be inferred. We find that the interface structure is surprisingly complex and that more than one atomic configuration is possible for a given grain orientation and interface plane. It is therefore not unexpected that even twin boundaries can show variations in electrical properties.