Options
Ultra-low reflective silicon surfaces for photovoltaic applications
Citation
Lim, J. W. M., Huang, S. Y., Chan, C. S., Xu, S., Wei, D. Y., Guo, Y. N.,… & Ostrikov, K. (2016). Ultra-low reflective silicon surfaces for photovoltaic applications. Procedia Engineering, 139, 147–154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.09.218
Author
Lim, Mark Jian Wei
•
Huang, Shiyong
•
Chan, Chia Sern
•
•
Wei, Deyuan
•
Guo, Yingnan
•
Xu, Luxiang
•
Ostrikov, Kostya (Ken)
Abstract
Silicon based photovoltaic cells still remain a mainstay in the industries due to its relatively low cost for
manufacturing and implementation. A good knowledge base of the material has also been built up over the years and
there is no doubt that silicon based photovoltaic cells would continue to lay the basis for renewable energy for many
years to come. However, it is widely known that conventional silicon photovoltaic cells have relatively lower power
conversion efficiencies as compared to its next generation counterparts. This is partly due to the high optical losses
on surfaces, resulting in poor harvesting of energy from incident light. In this work, an ICP process was developed
to fabricate ultra-low reflective silicon surfaces for photovoltaic applications. An Ar + H2 feedstock was used to
texture nanocones on the surface of silicon wafers, reducing the reflective losses and forming a high quality pn
junction simultaneously. Reflectivity of the samples were characterised with a Zolix SCS10-X150-DSSC UV-Vis
spectrometer with an attached integrating sphere, while the photovoltaic properties were measured with a PV
characterization suite from Sinton instruments. The low reflectivity with promising electronic properties of the
processed materials shows propitious potential for applications in the field of photovoltaics.
Date Issued
2016
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal
Procedia Engineering