Laser texturing of ZnO:Al front contact for efficiency enhancement in thin-film silicon solar cells

This work studies the capability of using a nanosecond laser source to texture ZnO:Al (AZO) thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering onto a Corning glass 7059. A Q-switched laser working at 355 nm is used to pattern the surface of the AZO thin film by performing an array of parallel and perpendicular laser lines. This method leads to the creation of a micro-texturing similar to a grating on the AZO surface. Subsequently, a-Si p-i-n solar cells were deposited onto substrates with different AZO morphologies. Current-voltage (J-V) characteristics of the resulting devices were measured under 100-mW/cm² AM1.5G illumination conditions at 25 °C.