Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Copper-assisted, anti-reflection etching of silicon surfaces

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1151783
;
A method (300) for etching a silicon surface (116) to reduce reflectivity. The method (300) includes electroless deposition of copper nanoparticles about 20 nanometers in size on the silicon surface (116), with a particle-to-particle spacing of 3 to 8 nanometers. The method (300) includes positioning (310) the substrate (112) with a silicon surface (116) into a vessel (122). The vessel (122) is filled (340) with a volume of an etching solution (124) so as to cover the silicon surface (116). The etching solution (124) includes an oxidant-etchant solution (146), e.g., an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The silicon surface (116) is etched (350) by agitating the etching solution (124) with, for example, ultrasonic agitation, and the etching may include heating (360) the etching solution (124) and directing light (365) onto the silicon surface (116). During the etching, copper nanoparticles enhance or drive the etching process.
Research Organization:
NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States))
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
Assignee:
Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC (Golden, CO)
Patent Number(s):
8,815,104
Application Number:
13/423,745
OSTI ID:
1151783
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (25)

Design and characterization of a robust photoelectrochemical device to generate hydrogen using solar water splitting journal September 2006
Photoelectrochemical Behavior of n-Type Porous-Si Electrodes journal July 1986
Black silicon layer formation for application in solar cells journal November 2006
Porous silicon in solar cells: A review and a description of its application as an AR coating journal April 1995
Surface texturing for silicon solar cells using reactive ion etching technique
  • Kumaravelu, G.; Alkaisi, M. M.; Bittar, A.
  • Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference 2002, Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002. https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2002.1190507
conference January 2002
Texturization of multicrystalline silicon wafers for solar cells by chemical treatment using metallic catalyst journal January 2006
Black multi-crystalline silicon solar cells journal March 2007
Extremely Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Micro- and Nanostructures Fabricated by Copper Catalytic Etching journal January 2011
Metal-assisted chemical etching of silicon in HF–H2O2 journal July 2008
Efficient SERS substrates made by electroless silver deposition into patterned silicon structures journal January 2004
Multi-scale surface texture to improve blue response of nanoporous black silicon solar cells journal September 2011
Efficient black silicon solar cell with a density-graded nanoporous surface: Optical properties, performance limitations, and design rules journal September 2009
Nano-sized Taper Structure Formed by Wet Process Using Catalysis of Gold Nanoparticle journal January 2007
Patterning of various silicon structures via polymer lithography and catalytic chemical etching journal May 2011
Nanostructured black silicon and the optical reflectance of graded-density surfaces journal June 2009
10 μm minority-carrier diffusion lengths in Si wires synthesized by Cu-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid growth journal October 2009
>16% thin-film epitaxial silicon solar cells on 70-cm 2 area with 30-µm active layer, porous silicon back reflector, and Cu-based top-contact metallization : Silicon solar cells, silicon reflector, metallization journal September 2011
Fabrication of large area subwavelength antireflection structures on Si using trilayer resist nanoimprint lithography and liftoff
  • Yu, Zhaoning; Gao, He; Wu, Wei
  • Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, Vol. 21, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.1619958
journal January 2003
Wide-Angle Antireflection Effect of Subwavelength Structures for Solar Cells journal June 2007
Superhydrophobic and Low Light Reflectivity Silicon Surfaces Fabricated by Hierarchical Etching journal September 2008
Optical reflectance and transmission of a textured surface journal August 1977
Antireflection subwavelength structure of silicon surface formed by wet process using catalysis of single nano-sized gold particle journal August 2008
Fabrication of Single-Crystalline Silicon Nanowires by Scratching a Silicon Surface with Catalytic Metal Particles journal February 2006
Black nonreflecting silicon surfaces for solar cells journal May 2006
Hydrogen generation from photoelectrochemical water splitting based on nanomaterials journal September 2009

Similar Records

Nanoparticle-based etching of silicon surfaces
Patent · 2011 · OSTI ID:1034302
The influence of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} concentration to the structure of silicon nanowire growth by metal-assisted chemical etching
Journal Article · 2016 · AIP Conference Proceedings · OSTI ID:22608582
Etching study for the MC2980 glass ceramic preform
Technical Report · 1978 · OSTI ID:6427233

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE