Optical Properties of Chemical Vapour Etching Based Porous Silicon for Multicrystalline Solar Cells

Abstract:

In this paper, we report a study on the possibility of fabricating porous silicon by exposing a multicrystalline silicon surface to gaseous etchants. The structural and optical properties of porous silicon (PS) layers prepared by vapour –etching (VE) are investigated. FTIR analysis confirms the existence of hydrogen incorporation bonding to the silicon atoms. Photoluminescence measurements reveal an efficient emission around 640 nm. The optical behaviour in the 350-1000 nm wavelength range was determined before and after PS formation, resulting in a notable reduction of reflectance and an enlargement of low reflectance region into short wavelengths and near IR region after PS formation. A significant increase of the quantum efficiency particularly in the short wavelength region is observed. The results make the use of such thin film very promising for multicrystalline silicon solar cell application.

• Periodical: Advanced Engineering Forum (Volume 23)
• Pages: 56-62
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AEF.23.56
• Online since: July 2017
• Authors: Bedra Mahmoudi*, Ahmed Mouhoub, Brahim Mahmoudi, Hamid Menari, Abdennour Mougas
• Keywords: FTIR Spectroscopy, Optical Properties, Photoluminescence, Porous Silicon, Solar Cells

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