Reduction of reflectance at c-silicon solar cell using nanotexturization

Reduction in reflection losses of bare silicon surfaces has always attracted many researchers as it by far remains the most important criterion needed for achieving high efficiency solar cells. Anti-reflection coatings (ARC) of dielectrics help in balancing the refractive index mismatch between silicon and air. Although such ARCs help in reducing the reflection losses, they do not cause bending of light rays which is essential for efficient light trapping of the injected light into the cell. The technological leaps in the last few decades have lead to the possibility of nanotextured surfaces comprising of sub-wavelength structures in the optical domain. We report a simple and fast process for nanotexturing of the silicon surface may be achieved by creating silver nano-islands on the silicon surface and etching the exposed silicon surface.