Improving the efficiency of silicon solar cells using the novel gas-lift effect texturing approach

Abstract

Texturing the surface of the silicon-based solar cells significantly increases the light absorption contributing to their overall efficiency. Wet anisotropic etching technique utilizing the novel gas-lift effect (GLE) approach is an effective and low-cost approach for texturing commercial silicon solar cells. Two solar cell devices, one based on the novel GLE texturing approach and the other based on the conventional method, were designed, fabricated, and characterized. A significant improvement (more than 100%) was observed in the efficiency of the solar cell based on the GLE texturing approach. This improvement may be contributed to the significant impact of utilizing the GLE approach on increasing the real surface area (resulting in higher electron-hole pair generation) and increased light absorption (decreased reflectivity). The application of the new GLE texturing approach results in considerable improvements in overall power efficiency of silicon solar cells without any additional increase to the production cost.