Reactive ion etching (RIE) as a method for texturing polycrystalline silicon solar cells

Reactive ion etching (RIE) has been applied and developed as a method for texturing polycrystalline silicon solar cells. Two structures (microgrooves and pyramids) were produced in this work. Reflectivity measurements between 400-1200 nm show an overall reflectance of 5.6% for pyramid and 7.9% for groove structures. These results are better than those using wet anisotropic etch techniques on single-crystal silicon. RIE texturing was performed on cast polycrystalline silicon and produced better reflection control than standard TiO2 antireflection coatings. RIE texturing also changes the incidence angle of light into the silicon, this improves the response for long wavelengths which can be utilised in thin film, polycrystalline or amorphous silicon solar cells.