Investigation of Acidic Texturization for Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cells

A new texturing method especially for multicrystalline silicon solar cells was investigated. This technique is based on a maskless acidic etching of silicon. It can texturize surfaces quite homogeneously in a short time and eliminate a saw damage removal process. We showed phosphoric acid is preferable as a catalytic agent to moderate etching rates without effecting texturing. A simulation was carried out in an attempt to achieve lower reflectance. It was found that the reflectance is dependent on the quotient of the depth and the width of texture ( h/D ). We found that surface active agents are effective in increasing the h/D value. The reflectance decreases corresponding to h/D , and measured reflectance is in good agreement with the simulation. Comparing the electrical characteristics of an acidic textured multicrystalline solar cell and an alkaline textured one, the short‐circuit current density of acidic texturing is higher than the other. © 1999 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.