Understanding the optics of industrial black silicon

David Payne*, Tsun Hang Fung, Muhammad Umair Khan, Jose Cruz-Campa, Keith McIntosh, Malcolm Abbott

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference paperpeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Industrial scale black silicon texturing has become a topic of increasing importance as a method for enabling lower cost multicrystalline silicon wafers through diamond wire sawing, as well as for its potential to provide improved efficiencies through enhanced optical characteristics. Two different texturing processes have emerged as candidates for mainstream industrial uptake, metal catalyzed chemical etching (MCCE) and reactive ion etching (RIE). However, these techniques can produce substantially different textures and both provide a wide parameter space allowing for various feature shapes and sizes to be produced. The surface texture not only determines the total reflectance of a solar cell, but also impacts the light trapping and subsequent absorption through scattering. Here, we carry out a detailed analysis on a representative range of both MCCE and RIE textures on multiple substrate types in order to further develop the fundamental understanding of how these specific surface morphologies impact the optical characteristics. This will better enable integration with other process conditions as well as optimization between optical and electrical requirements.

Original languageEnglish
Article number050007
Pages (from-to)1-8
Number of pages8
JournalAIP Conference Proceedings
Volume1999
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Aug 2018
Externally publishedYes
EventSiliconPV 2018: The 8th International Conference on Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics - Lausanne, Switzerland
Duration: 19 Mar 201821 Mar 2018

Bibliographical note

Monograph title: "SiliconPV 2018: the 8th International Conference on Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaics". Editor: Christophe Ballif, Rolf Brendel, Stefan Glunz, Giso Hahn, Jef Poortmans, Pierre-Jean Ribeyron and Arthur Weeber, ISBN: 9780735417151.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Understanding the optics of industrial black silicon'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this