NOEL

Silicon Solar Cells & Antireflection Coating


 

Laser Annealing

 

Nanopaticle Stacks


Intruded gold nanoclusters

(INC) method


Silicon Solar Cells &

Antireflection Coating

Nanoparticles

Nanoimprint &

Nanofabrication

Organic Solar Cells

Carbon Nanotube

 

Using Self-Assembled Nanoparticles to Fabricate and Optimize Subwavelength Textured Structures in Solar Cells

This paper reports the preparation of optimal textured structures on silicon surfaces through metal-assisted etching using gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as catalysts in HF/H2O2 solution. The size and density of the NPs on the Si substrates were readily and rapidly determined using spectroscopic ellipsometry. We obtained uniformly textured Si layers containing cylindrical, conical, and bowl-shaped features after immersing the Au-deposited Si substrates in a mixture of HF and H2O2 under various etching conditions. A textured surface possessing close-packed pyramidal features with dimensions on the subwavelength scale exhibited the lowest reflectance (<0.5%) over the entire visible and near-IR spectrum. This low reflectance arose from the refractive index gradient of the Si surface and light trapping phenomena. We used a 3D finite-difference time domains simulation to examine the distribution of light propagating on the textured structures within the near-field regime.




Top-view SEM images of Si wafers loaded with Au NPs for (b) 5 min and (e) the corresponding images obtained after immersion in the etching solution for 20 min in the dark. Etching solution: 50% HF, 30% H2O2, and H2O (2:1:8, v/v/v).



Reflectance spectra of the surfaces of subwavelength textured Si wafers. The Au NPs were deposited on the Si wafer for 30 min and then immersed in the HF/H2O2 solution in the dark for 5 (a, solid line), 20 (b, dashed line) and 60 (c, dashed dotted line) min.


 
 
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