Summary
Developing efficient light trapping techniques plays a crucial role in improving silicon (Si) solar cell parameters by decreasing optical losses. Herein, four various surface morphologies by copper‐assisted chemical etching (Cu‐ACE) technique under various process conditions were developed. The etching solution is composed of copper nitrate trihydrate (Cu[NO3]2), hydrofluoric acid, and hydrogen peroxide in deionized water. The systematic correlation study on the molarity of the chemical ingredients reveals that the final surface morphology is strongly dependent on the molarity of Cu(NO3)2, resulting either in porous‐like or micro elliptical shaped or inverted pyramid (IP) structures on the surface of p‐type Si. The novel surface morphology, tetragonal‐star‐shaped IPs, is accomplished by gradually increasing process temperature from 50°C to 55°C in 15 min, resulting in an extremely low weighted reflectance value of 2.65% on a p‐type Si wafer. Furthermore, aluminum back surface field Si solar cells were fabricated using the standard upright and novel tetragonal‐star‐shaped inverted pyramidal structures. The short‐circuit current density and conversion efficiency values of the fabricated solar cells are significantly improved by the implementation of the tetragonal‐star‐shaped IPs, where short‐circuit current density values are enhanced by 3% compared to the case where texturing with upright pyramids was applied.
Aluminum induced texturing (AIT) is one of the most promising texturing methods, which can be applied on glass substrates for solar cell applications. Combination of different dimensional structures exhibits the opportunity to achieve enhanced light trapping schemes. Here in this study, float glass and macro textured sandy and prism glasses went through Aluminum induced texturing (AIT) process in order to enhance light management. Surface morphologies were investigated by FE‐SEM and optical measurements in terms of transmittance and haze were conducted. Micro or nano sized craters were formed on each type of glass surface successfully by using acidic and basic etching solutions. It was shown for every type of glass that AIT process enhances haze values remarkably. Moreover, it was demonstrated that basic solution is superior to acidic solution in terms of optical properties. In this work, random macro‐scale surface texture and imprinted inverted pyramid‐like pattern were used to combine AIT textures to attain high haze values. Superior haze was achieved from macro‐nano combined texture surface having more scattered light from prism glass substrate with a maximum haze value of 90 %.
Comparison of AIT textured float, prism and sandy glasses in terms of haze.
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