Metal-assisted nano-textured solar cells with SiO2/Si3N4 passivation

•A novel metal assisted texturing method was implemented to mono-c Si solar cells.•The proposed method results in nano-texturing with very low reflection from the surface.•Process optimizations resulted in cell efficiencies slightly better than standard pyramid texture with SiO2/SiNx stack passivation.

We demonstrate the fabrication of nano-sized surface textured crystalline silicon by a metal-assisted electroless etching method with nitric acid added as the hole injection agent. This method generates randomly shaped cone-like structures that offer a clear advantage over nanowires by enabling straightforward passivation with standard techniques. Average reflection values as low as 3% have been achieved. Optimizing the thickness of anti-reflective coatings, the doping depth and the screen-printed metal firing process increases the short circuit current of the cell by 0.82 mA/cm2 over the reference cells, which had a pyramidal texture without nano-texturing.

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