We fabricated a two-dimensional subwavelength structured (SWS) surface upon a crystal silicon substrate. The SWS surface was patterned by electron beam lithography and etched by an SF(6) fast atom beam. The SWS grating had a conical profile, the period was 150 nm, and the groove was approximately 350 nm deep. The reflectivity was examined at 2002500-nm wavelengths. At 400 nm the reflectivity decreased to 0.5% from the 54.7% of the silicon substrate. We also used HeNe laser light to examine the reflectivity as a function of the incident angle.

An ordered anodic porous alumina membrane has been used as a lithographic mask of SF6 fast atom beam etching to generate a 100 nm period antireflection structure on a silicon substrate. The antireflection structure consists of a deep hexagonal grating with 100 nm period and aspect ratio of 12, which is a fine two-dimensional antireflection structure. In the wavelength region from 400 to 800 nm, the reflectivity of the silicon surface decreases from around 40% to less than 1.6%. The measured results are explained well with the theoretical results calculated on the basis of rigorous coupled-wave analysis.

Recently, submicron textures have been researched and applied to multicrystalline silicon solar cells in order to improve their optical performance. In this study, the antireflection and light trapping effects of submicron surface textures in crystalline Si (c‐Si) solar cells were quantitatively investigated by numerical simulations based on Maxwell's equations with a simple two‐dimensional (2D) surface grating model. The calculated results showed that the surface reflection loss can be effectively reduced by using submicron Si surface gratings with appropriate aspect ratios. On the other hand, higher order diffractions that are caused by surface gratings that increase optical path lengths and light absorption near the band gap wavelength are dominant only for those with periods greater than 0·5 µm. From these results, it was inferred that submicron textures are effective for light trapping as well as for antireflection in thin c‐Si solar cells if appropriate dimensions are chosen. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In this article, the light-trapping effect of textured back surface reflectors in thin-film Si solar cells is investigated. A unique substrate with a periodic dimple pattern has been developed by utilizing anodic oxidation of Al as a self-ordering process. n-i-p hydrogenated microcrystalline Si (μc-Si:H) cells fabricated on the Al substrate with a period of 0.9 μm show an improved infrared response compared to those fabricated on randomly textured substrates. A high short circuit current density of 24.3 mA/cm2 has been achieved in a 1-μm-thick μc-Si:H cell by adopting the patterned Al substrate.

Spectral emittance and thermal stability of two-dimensional W gratings are investigated to obtain high-temperature resistive selective emitters. Numerical calculations based on rigorous coupled-wave analysis are performed to determine the structural profile of gratings with good spectral selectivity. According to the determined parameters, two-dimensional W gratings composed of rectangular microcavities with the period of 1.0 μm are fabricated on single crystalline and polycrystalline W substrates. The grating shows a strong emission peak which can be explained by the confined modes inside the cavities. The grating with 200 nm wall thickness made from a single crystalline W shows very high thermal stability over 1400 K, while the polycrystalline grating is deformed at a high temperature because of the grain growth.