Investigations of solar cells with porous silicon as antireflection layer

The possibility of using porous silicon layers as antireflection coating instead of the antireflection coatings in common silicon solar cells was investigated. A technology for the manufacture of porous silicon antireflection layers was developed. The comparison of the photovoltaic and optical characteristics of investigated samples of solar cells with ZnS antireflection coating and with porous silicon antireflection coating is presented. It is shown that the formation of the porous layer under optimal technological regimes leads to significant improvement of the main photovoltaic parameters-short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.