Implications of alkaline solutions-induced etching on optical and minority carrier lifetime features of monocrystalline silicon

In this work, we search to optimize the surface textures of monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) intended to be used in silicon solar cells. For this purpose, we studied the morphology of formed etch hillocks during anisotropic etching of silicon using alkaline solutions based on sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium hydroxide (KOH) and tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). Such treatments lead to the formation of various pyramids-like textures that can be well optimized to improve the photocurrent of c-Si-based solar cells. The produced textures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–visible optical reflectivity and minority carrier lifetime measurements. These investigations allow evaluating the size and density of the formed pyramidal textures; the apex angles vary between 75° and 82°, while the heights and bases of the pyramids range from a few hundred nanometers to several micrometers. A minimum reflectivity value of about 6% was obtained at specific conditions using NaOH, whereas it was found that the apparent effective minority carrier lifetime (τeff) is sensitive to the injection level (Δn), which shows an apparent increase from 1.2 μs to 2.4 μs for a minority carrier density of about Δn = 21014 cm−3.