Light trapping is becoming of increasing importance in crystalline silicon solar cells as thinner wafers are used to reduce costs. In this work, we report on light trapping by rear-side diffraction gratings produced by nano-imprint lithography using interference lithography as the mastering technology. Gratings fabricated on crystalline silicon wafers are shown to provide significant absorption enhancements. Through a combination of optical measurement and simulation, it is shown that the crossed grating provides better absorption enhancement than the linear grating, and that the parasitic reflector absorption is reduced by planarizing the rear reflector, leading to an increase in the useful absorption in the silicon. Finally, electrooptical simulations are performed of solar cells employing the fabricated grating structures to estimate efficiency enhancement potential.

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Since micro- and nanostructures for photon management are of increasing importance in novel high-efficiency solar cell concepts, structuring techniques with up-scaling potential play a key role in their realization. Interference lithography and nanoimprint processes are presented as technologies for origination and replication of fine-tailored photonic structures on large areas. At first, these structure origination and replication technologies are presented in detail: With the interference pattern of two or more coherent waves, a wide variety of structures with feature sizes ranging from 100 nm to 100 µm can be generated in photoresist by interference lithography. Examples are linear gratings, crossed gratings, hexagonal structures, three dimensional photonic crystals or surface-relief diffusers. The strength of this technology is that homogeneous structures can be originated on areas of up to 1.2 x 1.2 m2. The structures in photoresist, the so-called master structures, can serve as an etching mask for a pattern transfer, as a template for infiltration with different materials or they can be replicated via electroplating and subsequent replication processes. Especially in combination with replication steps, the industrially feasible production of elaborate structures is possible. As a particularly interesting process, nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is described in detail. As a way towards industrial production, a roller NIL tool is presented. After the description of the basic technologies, three application examples for solar cells are presented with details about the design of the structures, the structuring processes, sample characterization and evaluation: (1) honeycomb structures for the front side texturization of multicrystalline silicon wafer solar cells, (2) diffractive rear side gratings for absorption enhancement in the spectral region near the band gap of silicon, and (3) plasmonic metal nanoparticle arrays manufactured by combined imprint and lift off processes

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