One-step Cu-assisted chemical etching at room temperature of inverted pyramid array for high-performance crystalline silicon solar cells

Abstract

Previous studies on the one-step Cu-assisted texturization of silicon wafers have predominantly focused on etching conditions at relatively high temperatures, which are unsuitable for the mass production of solar cells in industrial settings. In this study, we introduced the one-step Cu-assisted chemical etching (Cu-ACE) technique at room temperature to obtain large-area silicon inverted pyramid (IP) array structures. Based on this structure, diamond wire saw (DWS) mc-Si solar cells can achieve a balance between enhanced light trapping and lower carrier recombination by optimizing the concentration of the component Cu(NO3)2/HF/H2O2 in the etchant solution and the etching time during the Cu-ACE process. As a result, these solar cells deliver a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.20 %, which is 1.99 % absolute higher than solar cells using traditional etching techniques. This work paves a new pathway toward the mass production of high-efficiency crystalline Si solar cells, offering a cost-effective and simple texturization approach.