Black silicon recent improvements for photovoltaic cells

Abstract

Researchers have shown that a simple way to improve the absorption of solar cells consists in irradiating a silicon surface with a series of femtosecond laser pulses under SF6 gas to create a black silicon surface. We have made our Black Silicon with fs laser under vacuum and we have used Plasma Immersion Doping (PIII) to create shallow junctions and take advantage of this better absorption. Therefore we can increase the optical absorption by 56% in the UV and 37% in the IR, compared to a non-texturized silicon surface. The Internal Quantum Efficiency has also been increased, especially in the UV. Therefore the electrical performance is also drastically improved: we observed a 50% increase in the photocurrent.Researchers have shown that a simple way to improve the absorption of solar cells consists in irradiating a silicon surface with a series of femtosecond laser pulses under SF6 gas to create a black silicon surface. We have made our Black Silicon with fs laser under vacuum and we have used Plasma Immersion Doping (PIII) to create shallow junctions and take advantage of this better absorption. Therefore we can increase the optical absorption by 56% in the UV and 37% in the IR, compared to a non-texturized silicon surface. The Internal Quantum Efficiency has also been increased, especially in the UV. Therefore the electrical performance is also drastically improved: we observed a 50% increase in the photocurrent.