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Efficient nanostructured ‘black’ silicon solar cell by copper‐catalyzed metal‐assisted etching
Author(s) -
Toor Fatima,
Oh Jihun,
Branz Howard M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.2562
Subject(s) - black silicon , materials science , etching (microfabrication) , solar cell , silicon , nanostructure , copper , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , reflection (computer programming) , open circuit voltage , metal , nanotechnology , metallurgy , layer (electronics) , voltage , computer science , engineering , programming language , physics , quantum mechanics
Abstract We produce low‐reflectivity nanostructured ‘black’ silicon (bSi) using copper (Cu) nanoparticles as the catalyst for metal‐assisted etching and demonstrate a 17.0%‐efficient Cu‐etched bSi solar cell without any vacuum‐deposited anti‐reflection coating. The concentration ratio of HF to H 2 O 2 in the etch solution provides control of the nanostructure morphology. The solar‐spectrum‐weighted average reflection (R ave ) for bSi is as low as 3.1% on Cu‐etched planar samples; we achieve lower reflectivity by nanostructuring of micron‐scale pyramids. Successful Cu‐based anti‐reflection etching requires a concentration ratio [HF]/[H 2 O 2 ] ≥ 3. Our 17.0%‐efficient Cu‐etched bSi photovoltaic cell with a pyramid‐texture has a R ave of 3% and an open circuit voltage (V oc ) of 616 mV that might be further improved by reducing near‐surface phosphorus (P) densities. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.