A porous Si-emitter crystalline-Si solar cell with 18.97% efficiency.

A p-n junction was made on p-type Si〈100〉 wafer (15 × 15 × 0.2 mm(3) in size) via phosphorous diffusion at 900 °C. Porous Si (PSi) with ultralow reflectivity (<0.3% in the ultraviolet and visible regimes) was achieved by etching a Ag-coated n(+) Si emitter in a solution of HF, H2O2 and H2O. The PSi was found to mainly consist of Si nanocrystallites with bandgap widths larger than that of bulk Si. Compared to other micro- or nanostructured Si-based crystalline-Si solar cells found in the literature, this PSi one possessed the feature of a graded band gap, which helped to suppress the surface recombination. In addition, the preparation method was readily applicable on large-scale-sized Si wafers. Also, the PSi acted as a down-shifter that absorbed the ultraviolet/violet light to which the Si solar cell responded poorly, and emitted a red one to which the cell responded well. Front and rear surface passivations were conducted by using SiO2 and Al2O3, respectively, to suppress the surface recombination and to facilitate the charge transfer. Indium-tin-oxide was used as the front electrode that was in good contact with the PSi, and Al was used as the rear one. For such a PSi-emitter crystalline-Si solar cell, enhancements of the photovoltaic responses from the ultraviolet to near-infrared regimes were observed; the open-circuit voltage was 606.8 mV, the short-circuit current density was 40.13 mA cm(-2), the fill factor was 0.779 and the conversion efficiency was 18.97%.