We discovered a technical solution of such outstanding importance that it can trigger new approaches in silicon wet etching processing and, in particular, photovoltaic cell manufacturing. The so called inverted pyramid arrays, outperforming conventional pyramid textures and black silicon because of their superior light-trapping and structure characteristics, can currently only be achieved using more complex techniques involving lithography, laser processing, etc. Importantly, our data demonstrate a feasibility of inverted pyramidal texturization of silicon by maskless Cu-nanoparticles assisted etching in Cu(NO3)2 / HF / H2O2 / H2O solutions and as such may have significant impacts on communities of fellow researchers and industrialists.

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A superior micron-sized inverted pyramid structure has been successfully achieved by one-step copper nanoparticles assisted chemical etching in Si/Cu(NO)/HF/HO solution for light trapping in silicon solar cells. The detailed mechanisms of such a novel method have been systematically demonstrated. The charge transfer during the reaction has been revealed by the simplified energy band diagram of the system as well. In order to form micro-structured inverted pyramids, the generation and dissolution of Cu nanoparticles should keep in balance during the reaction, which depends on the concentration of the etchant, the doping type and the doping level of the silicon substrate. With the investigation of the intrinsic properties of the silicon substrate, the etching rate is found out as a combined result of the electron concentration and the defect density of the substrate, as well as the potential barrier on the interface of Si/Cu nanoparticles. Furthermore, the anisotropic nature of Cu assisted chemical etching has also been investigated.

Insufficient interface conformity is a challenge faced in hybrid organic-silicon heterojunction solar cells because of using conventional pyramid antireflection texturing provoking the porosity of interface. In this study, we tested alternative textures, in particular rounded pyramids and inverted pyramids to compare the performance. It was remarkably improved delivering 7.61%, 8.91% and 10.04% efficiency employing conventional, rounded, and inverted pyramids, respectively. The result was interpreted in terms of gradually improving conformity of the Ag/organic/silicon interface, together with the gradually decreasing serial resistance. Altogether, the present data may guide further efforts arising the interface engineering for mastering high efficient heterojunction solar cells.

The reduced divergence angle of the photonic crystal vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (PC-VCSEL) was investigated in both theory and experiment. The photonic crystal waveguide possessed the weakly guiding waveguide characteristic, which accounted for the reduction of the divergence angle. The three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method was used to simulate the designed PC-VCSEL, and a calculated divergence angle of 5.2° was obtained. The measured divergence angles of our fabricated PC-VCSEL were between 5.1° and 5.5° over the entire drive current range, consistent with the numerical results. This is the lowest divergence angle of the fabricated PC-VCSEL ever reported.

In-Sn alloys were prepared using arc melting technique. Their microstructures were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope with energy dispersed X-ray. Based on microstructure analysis, the phase constituents of alloys at Al grain boundaries were identified. The melting points of Al grain boundary phases were measured using differential scanning calorimeter. The reactivities of Al-water at different water temperatures indicate that liquid Al grain boundary phases promote Al-water reactions of alloys. The melting points of Al grain boundary phases affect the reaction temperatures of Al-water, leading to different reaction temperatures of alloys. The measured H 2 generation rate and yields of alloys are related to the compositions of alloys. The theory of micro-galvanic cell is used to explain the observed different H 2 generation rates of alloys.