Atomic force microscopy analysis of alkali textured silicon substrates for solar cell applications

Abstract

<jats:p>In this paper, the surface morphology of textured silicon substrates is explored. Prior to the surface morphology analysis, textured silicon substrates were obtained by KOH anisotropic texturing of polished silicon wafers. This was achieved by investigating of the dependence surface texturing on the process parameters; etchant concentration, etching time and temperature. The surface morphology of the textured silicon samples was obtained using atomic force microscopy that was operated in the tapping mode. The resulting atomic force microscopy (AFM) images were analyzed using the Nanoscope and Gwyddion software packages. The AFM analysis revealed more surface details such as the depth, roughness, section, and step height analysis. The analysis was limited to a length scale of a few micrometers, which carefully reveals the number of individualities of the initial stages of pyramid growth. The average roughness was found to be 593nm for an optimally textured silicon wafer. The implications of the study are then discussed for potential light trapping application in silicon solar cells.</jats:p>

Advances in the Use of Atomic Force Microscopy as a Diagnostic Tool for Solar Cells Characterization: From Material Design to Device Applications

“…[155] The influence of surface properties for textured silicon substrates has been explored with AFM for potential light trapping applications in silicon solar cells, with results suggesting that modulated texturing of silicon substrates can be beneficial in the augmentation of photoconversion and the efficiency of silicon solar cells. [156] Most importantly, the first successful mapping of photocarrier lifetimes on silicon nanocrystal-based solar cell structures using KPFM has presented an analytical approach on conducting KPFM lifetime measurement with a higher lateral resolution for surface potential investigation and with satisfactory precision. [157] The image displayed in Figure 7 was obtained under tapping mode AFM condition from a degraded solar cell structure containing heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer (HIT).…”

Is there a possibility of perovskite taking over the solar technology market by 2030?

“…However, the solar cell technologies that are required to convert solar energy into electricity have to be efficient, cost effective and must have a long lifespan before it can be put forward for commercialization. Presently, crystalline silicon-based solar cells with relatively high efficiency of about 22 percent accounts for a large portion of the solar panels sold in the world [2]. Although, silicon is in abundant as a raw material used for these solar cells, its processing appears to be complicated and thus increases the manufacturing costs, making the end-product to be quite expensive.…”