Abstract
Almost every monocrystalline silicon solar cell design includes a wet chemical process step for the alkaline texturing of the wafer surface in order to reduce the reflection of the front side. The alkaline texturing solution contains hydroxide, an organic additive usually 2-propanol and as a reaction product silicate. The hydroxide is consumed due to the reaction whereas 2-propanol evaporates during the process. Therefore, the correct replenishment for both components is required in order to achieve constant processing conditions. This may be simplified by using analytical methods for controlling the main components of the alkaline bath. This study gives an overview for a successful analytical method of the main components of an alkaline texturing bath by titration, HPLC, surface tension and NIR spectrometry.
Highlights
The wet chemical alkaline texturing is still an important process step during the fabrication of monocrystalline silicon solar cells [1,2,3]
We present different approaches for the analysis of the components of alkaline texturisation baths by titration, high performance liquid chromatography, surface tension and near-infrared spectroscopy
The determination of 2-propanol (IPA) by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was achieved by a system consisting of the isocratic HPLC pump P680 (Dionex, Sunnyvale, USA) and an Acclaim Organic Acid column (4.0 × 150 mm) with a following refraction index detector at 35 ̊C (Shodex RI-101, Showa Denko, Tokyo, Japan)
Summary
The wet chemical alkaline texturing is still an important process step during the fabrication of monocrystalline silicon solar cells [1,2,3]. The hydroxide is consumed due to the reaction with silicon whereas 2-propanol is not consumed, but evaporates during the process due to its low boiling point (82 ̊C). This texturing process results in a reduction of the reflection of the silicon wafer surface due to a complete coverage of the surface with randomly distributed micro pyramids. A complete analysis and control of the chemical concentrations in alkaline texturing baths is the prerequisite for a continuous processing at a high quality level. In order to evaluate the analytical methods, the component concentrations in the texturisation bath were measured during several processes at a semi-industrial batch process plant
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