Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fabrication of multi-crystalline silicon pyramid structure and improvement in its photovoltaic performance

  • Electronic materials
  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The texture structure of the multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) pyramid was realized by a combination of acidic and alkaline etching. The results showed that the structure of the corrosion pits could be first obtained on the mc-Si surface by acid etching, and the subsequent alkaline etching could further transform the pits into a pyramid structure. The best solar cell obtained based on the textured structure showed superior photovoltaic property, and its photovoltaic conversion efficiency reached 18.17%, which was significantly higher than that of solar cell without texture structure. The improvement in efficiency was mainly owing to the light-trapping effect of texture structure, which was confirmed by the external quantum efficiency measurement. This work offers a simple way to prepare low-cost mc-Si solar cells with high performance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wu D, Sun J, Liu Y, Yang Z, Xu H, Zheng X, Gou P (2017) Rapid fabrication of microstructure on PMMA substrate by the plate to plate Transition-Spanning isothermal hot embossing method nearby glass transition temperature. Polym Eng Sci 57:268–274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Lee JK, Lee JS, Ahn YS, Kang GH, Song HE, Lee JI, Kang MG, Cho CH (2017) Photovoltaic performance of c-Si wafer reclaimed from end-of-life solar cell using various mixing ratios of HF and HNO3. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 160:301–306

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Lu YT, Barron AR (2014) Anti-reflection layers fabricated by a one-step copper-assisted chemical etching with inverted pyramidal structures intermediate between texturing and nanopore-type black silicon. J Mater Chem A 2:12043–12052

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hylton JD, Burgers AR, Sinke WC (2004) Alkaline etching for reflectance reduction in multicrystalline silicon solar cells. J Electrochem Soc 151:408–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Basu PK, Dhasmana H, Varandani D, Mehta BR, Thakur DK (2009) A cost-effective alkaline multicrystalline silicon surface polishing solution with improved smoothness. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 93:1743–1748

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Chen WH, Hong CN (2016) 0.76% absolute efficiency increase for screen-printed multicrystalline silicon solar cells with nanostructures by reactive ion etching. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 157:48–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Cecchetto L, Serenelli L, Agarwal G, Izzi M, Salza E, Tucci M (2013) Highly textured multi-crystalline silicon surface obtained by dry etching multi-step process. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 116:283–290

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Jiang QJ, Lu JG, Zhang J, Yuan YL, Cai H, Wu CJ, Sun RJ, Lu B, Pan XH, Ye ZZ (2014) Texture surfaces and etching mechanism of ZnO:Al films by a neutral agent for solar cells. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 130:264–271

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Meinel B, Koschwitz T, Heinemann R, Acker J (2014) The texturization process during horizontal acidic etching of multi-crystalline silicon wafers. Mater Sci Semicond Process 26:695–703

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Chu H, Han W, Ren F, Xiang L, Wei Y, Zhang C (2018) Flame synthesis of carbon nanotubes on different substrates in methane diffusion flames. ES Energy Environ 2:73–81

    Google Scholar 

  11. Qiao F, Liang Q, Cui X, Xu Q, Xie Y, Chu H (2019) Tunable formation of ZnSe to ZnO due to a controlled phase transition driven by hydrazine and sodium hydroxide. ES Energy Environ 4:34–40

    Google Scholar 

  12. Chu H, Han W, Cao W, Gu M, Xu G (2019) Effect of methane addition to ethylene on the morphology and size distribution of soot in a laminar co-flow diffusion flame. Energy 166:392–400

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Liu S, Niu X, Shan W, Lu W, Zheng J, Li Y, Duan H, Quan W, Han W, Wronski CR, Yang D (2014) Improvement of conversion efficiency of multicrystalline silicon solar cells by incorporating reactive ion etching texturing. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 127:21–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Ye X, Zou S, Chen K, Zhang JJ, Ye XY, Li JJ, Zou S, Su XD (2015) 18.45%-efficient multi-crystalline silicon solar cells with novel nanoscale pseudo-pyramid texture. Adv Funct Mater 24:6708–6716

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Jiang Y, Shen H, Pu T, Zheng C, Tang Q, Gao K, Wu J, Rui CB, Li YF, Liu YW (2017) High efficiency multi-crystalline silicon solar cell with inverted pyramid nanostructure. Sol Energy 142:91–96

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Singh PK, Kumar R, Lal M, Singh SN, Das BK (2001) Effectiveness of anisotropic etching of silicon in aqueous alkaline solutions. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 70:103–113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Cheng YT, Ho JJ, Tsai SY, Ye ZZ, Lee W, Wang DS (2011) Efficiency improved by acid texturization for multi-crystalline silicon solar cells. Sol Energy 85:87–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Deinega A, Valuev I, Potapkin B, Lozovik Y (2011) Minimizing light reflection from dielectric textured surfaces. J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis 28:770–777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Qiao F, Kang R, Liang Q, Cai Y, Bian J, Hou X (2019) Tunability in the optical and electronic properties of ZnSe microspheres via Ag and Mn doping. ACS Omega 4:12271–12277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Zhou W, Tao M, Chen L, Yang H (2007) Microstructured surface design for omnidirectional antireflection coatings on solar cells. J Appl Phys 102:103105-1-9

    Google Scholar 

  21. Kulesza G, Panek P, Zięba P (2014) Time efficient texturization of multicrystalline silicon in the HF/HNO3 solutions and its effect on optoelectronic parameters of solar cells. Arch Civ Mech Eng 14:595–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Kim K, Dhungel SK, Jung S, Mangalaraj D, Yi J (2008) Texturing of large area multi-crystalline silicon wafers through different chemical approaches for solar cell fabrication. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 92:960–968

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51976081, 51406069), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Special Project (Nos. 2016T90426; 2015M581733), the Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Funds (No. 1501107B) and the Training Project of Jiangsu University Youth Backbone Teacher.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, People’s Republic of China

    Fen Qiao, Qichao Liang, Zhenya Chen & Dunyuan Jin

  2. Linuo Power, Linuo Hi-Tech Park, No. 30766 East Jingshi Road, Jinan, People’s Republic of China

    Yansen Jiang

  3. School of Energy and Environment, Anhui University of Technology, Hudong Road 59, Ma’anshan, People’s Republic of China

    Huaqiang Chu

Authors
  1. Fen Qiao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qichao Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yansen Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Huaqiang Chu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhenya Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Dunyuan Jin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huaqiang Chu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 157 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Qiao, F., Liang, Q., Jiang, Y. et al. Fabrication of multi-crystalline silicon pyramid structure and improvement in its photovoltaic performance. J Mater Sci 55, 680–687 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-04072-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-04072-9

Search

Navigation