Modulated surface nanostructures for enhanced light trapping and reduced surface reflection of crystalline silicon solar cells

Abstract

We demonstrated the fabrication of modulated surface nanostructures as a new surface texture design for thin wafer solar cells. Using a combination of conventional alkali etching and colloidal lithography, we fabricated surface textures with micrometer and nanometre scales on a Si substrate. These modulated surface nanostructures exhibit reduced surface reflection in a broad spectral range, compared with conventional micrometer textures. We investigated optical absorption using a rigorous coupled wave analysis simulation, which revealed a significant reduction in surface reflection over a broad spectral range and efficient light trapping (comparable to that of conventional micrometer-scale textures) for the modulated nanostructures. We found that the modulated surface nanostructures have a high potential of improving the performance of thin wafer crystalline Si solar cells.