Wire textured, multi-crystalline Si solar cells created using self-assembled masks

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy Engineering
• Surface Science

Background:

• Multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells are a dominant technology in the photovoltaic market.
• Enhancing light trapping is crucial for improving the efficiency of mc-Si solar cells.
• Existing texturing methods often involve expensive or complex processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an inexpensive and scalable method for creating wire textures on mc-Si solar cell surfaces.
• To improve light trapping capabilities of mc-Si solar cells.
• To evaluate the impact of wire texturing on solar cell performance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized reactive ion etching with a self-assembled monolayer of polymer microspheres as an etch mask.
• Employed chemical functionalization for mask assembly via simple dispensing, avoiding spin or squeegee techniques.
• Fabricated wire-textured mc-Si solar cells.

Main Results:

• Achieved surface reflectivities comparable to KOH-etched single-crystal silicon.
• Observed a 20% gain in short-circuit current compared to planar mc-Si control devices.
• Reported a 7-16% relative increase in pseudo-efficiencies after extracting series resistance.

Conclusions:

• The developed method offers an inexpensive and scalable route to wire texturing for mc-Si solar cells.
• Wire texturing significantly enhances light trapping and electrical performance.
• This approach holds promise for cost-effective improvements in solar cell efficiency.