Effective light absorptive layer-using mezo-porous silicon by electrochemical etching

Porous silicon (PS), an excellent light diffuser, can be used as an antireflective layer that does not need to be coated with other antireflection coating (ARC) materials. PS layers were obtained by electrochemical etching (ECE) anodization of silicon wafers in hydrofluoric acid/ethanol/deionized (DI) water solution (HF/EtOH/H₂O). This technique selectively removes Si atoms from the sample surface, forming a PS layer with adjustable optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. A PS layer with optimal antireflection characteristics was obtained for a charge density (Q) of 5.2C/cm². The weighted reflectance was reduced from 24 to 4% in the wavelength range from 400 to 1000nm. The weighted reflectance with optimized PS layers is much less than that with a commercial SiN_x ARC on a potassium hydroxide (KOH) pretextured multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) surface. Therefore, it can be successfully used as an alternative way for the preparation of a PS antireflective layer for a silicon solar cell.