ADVANTAGES OF TEXTURED MULTICRYSTALLINE SILICON FOR MIS INVERSION LAYER SOLAR-CELLS

The effect of surface texturing on the performance of multicrystalline silicon inversion layer solar cells was investigated with the plasma silicon nitride antireflection coating not matched for textured surfaces. The average efficiency is boosted by about 7% not only due to the expected increase in short-circuit current but also to an improved fill factor. The latter fact is the consequence of a significant reduction in the MIS contact resistance and inversion layer sheet resistant by surface texturing. Furthermore, the textured multicrystalline cells are more resistant against UV radiation than their untextured counterparts. The improvement achieved by surface texturing of multicrystalline silicon for MIS inversion layer solar cells are almost as pronounced as those obtained by texturing of (100) oriented monocrystalline silicon.