Glass surface etching with Aluminium-induced texture process for thin film solar cell applications

Abstract

Various approaches have been explored to enhance the efficiency of thin film solar cells by adopting new materials, novel device structures and implementing various light-trapping techniques. Generally, the light trapping is achieved by texturization of thin film transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layer by chemical etching. In the present study, we have etched the surface of the glass substrate by Aluminium-Induced Texturization (AIT) process. A set of experiments is carried out with different thicknesses of the Aluminium and annealed for different durations. The effect of AIT on the glass surface roughness is studied using AFM analysis. The optical transmission and haze of the etched glass substrates are measured using UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer. Aluminium-doped Zinc oxide (AZO) layer is deposited on the etched glass and the effect of glass etching on the properties of AZO thin film in terms of surface roughness, and optical properties are studied.