A simple and cost-effective approach for fabricating pyramids on crystalline silicon wafers

A simple and cost-effective approach for texturing crystalline silicon wafers is proposed. The advantage over conventional texturization processes is the fact that no surfactant is added in alkaline etchants. Hydrogen bubbles, regarded as residuals in conventional texturization processes, are utilized in this approach as etch masks on a silicon surface. This is accomplished by placing a metal grid with suitable openings on silicon wafers to confine the hydrogen bubbles created during etching. Pyramids with a size ranging from 6 to 9 mu m are uniformly fabricated using this method. Without antireflection coating, an average weighted reflectance of 15.1% is achieved. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.