Large-Area Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell Using Novel Antireflective Nanoabsorber Texturing Surface by Multihollow Cathode Plasma System and Spin-On Doping

Abstract

We present 11.7% efficient p-type crystalline silicon solar cells with a nanoscale textured surface and no dielectric antireflection coating. We propose nanocrystalline-like textured surface consisting of nanocrystalline columnar structures of diameters from 50 to 100 nm and depth of about 500 nm formed by reactive-ion etching (RIE) in multihollow cathode system. This novel nano textured surface acts as an antireflective absorbing surface of c-Si abbreviate as ARNAB (antireflective nanoabsorber). Light shining on the surface of RIE-etched silicon bounces back and forth between the spikes in such a way that most of it never comes back. Radio frequency (RF) hollow cathode discharge allows an improvement of plasma density by an order of magnitude in comparison to standard RF parallel-plate discharge. Desirable black silicon layer has been achieved when RF power of about 20 Watt per one hollow cathode glow is applied for our multihollow cathode system. The RF power frequency was 13.56 MHz. The antireflection property of ARNAB textured surface has been investigated and compared with wet-textured and PECVD coated silicon samples. Solar cell using low-cost spin-on coating technique has been demonstrated in this paper. We have successfully achieved 11.7% efficient large area (98 cm2) ARNAB textured crystalline silicon solar cell using low-cost spin-on coating (SOD) doping.