Vol. 26, No.

10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A498

Honeycomb micro-textures for light trapping in

multi-crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells
D. E ISENHAUER , 1,* H. S AI , 2 T. M ATSUI , 2 G. K ÖPPEL , 1 B. R ECH , 1
AND C. B ECKER 1
1 Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Kekuléstr. 5, 12489 Berlin, Germany
2 Research Center for Photovoltaics, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 2,
Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568, Japan
* david.eisenhauer@helmholtz-berlin.de

Abstract: The liquid phase crystallization (LPC) of silicon is an emerging technology for
fabricating 10 − 20 µm thin multi-crystalline silicon layers on glass. LPC silicon solar cells exhibit
similar electronic performance to multi-crystalline wafer-based devices. Due to the reduced
absorber thickness, however, effective measures for light trapping have to be taken.
We present tailor-made micro-structures for light trapping at the LPC silicon back-side, whereby
a nano-imprinted resist layer serves as a three-dimensional etching mask in subsequent reactive
ion etching. Contrary to state-of-the-art random pyramid textures produced by wet-chemical
etching, this method allows to produce tailor-made textures independent of grain orientation.
Differently shaped micro-textures were replicated in LPC silicon. Absorptance and external
quantum efficiency of periodic honeycomb patterns and random pyramids were found to be
equivalent. Thus, the method enables the potential to further optimize light trapping in LPC
silicon solar cells.
Published by The Optical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Further distribution
of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

OCIS codes: (050.6875) Three-dimensional fabrication; (110.4235) Nanolithography; (040.6040) Silicon; (040.5350)
Photovoltaic; (350.6050) Solar energy.

References and links

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#315364 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.26.00A498
Journal © 2018 Received 11 Dec 2017; revised 24 Jan 2018; accepted 8 Feb 2018; published 18 Apr 2018
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A499

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1. Introduction
Liquid phase crystallized (LPC) silicon thin-film solar cells on glass are a promising candidate
for high-efficiency thin-film devices, providing power conversion efficiencies up to 14.2 % so
far [1]. While the open-circuit voltage and the fill factor are already close to values reached
on multi-crystalline wafer cells [2], the short-circuit current density of 31.3 mA cm−2 is about
30 % lower than for record devices on high performance multi-crystalline wafers. Improving the
short-circuit current density in thin-film solar cells requires light management techniques, in
particular nano- or micro-texturing. Up to now, tailor-made, periodic light management textures
were implemented in LPC silicon solar cells at the sun-facing glass-silicon interface [3–5],
improving light in-coupling into the device. At the rear-side, both planar and glass-textured
devices relied on random pyramid textures produced by wet-chemical etching in potassium
hydroxide (KOH) for light trapping [1, 6, 7]. The pyramid texture resulting from wet-chemical
etching, however, depends on the silicon crystal grain orientation [1, 6], leading to varying
pyramid angles and, potentially, optical properties [8]. Furthermore, wet-chemical etching with
KOH does not allow individual design of tailored light trapping structures (optimized for the
respective thin-film solar cell geometry) with periodic or deterministic aperiodic geometry. In
micro-crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells, tailored light trapping textures efficiently increasing
light absorption in the thin absorber layer could be identified [9–13]. One investigated texture was
the honeycomb texture introduced by Sai et al. [13], which allowed to reach short-circuit current
densities above 30 mA cm−2 in 4 µm thick micro-crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells [14].
In the present publication, a method to replicate micro-textures in LPC silicon thin-film solar
cells on glass is presented. The method relies on a combination of nano-imprint lithography
(NIL) and reactive ion etching (RIE), whereby a resist layer structured by NIL serves as a
three-dimensional etching mask during RIE. It is demonstrated that this NIL+RIE method
allows to produce tailor-made micro-textures in LPC silicon independent of grain orientation.
Honeycomb textures with different periods and height-to-period ratios are replicated and analyzed
with respect to their absorption properties. An optimum honeycomb texture for light trapping in
LPC silicon is identified and compared to random pyramids produced by KOH etching.
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A500

2. Experimental
Samples were produced on Corning Eagle XG glasses. After a glass cleaning in a commercial
lab dish-washer, an interlayer stack of 250 nm silicon oxide (SiOx ) / 70 nm silicon nitride (SiNx )
was deposited via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Subsequently, the
SiNx layer was exposed to an oxygen-containing plasma, leading to an oxidation of the first
∼ 10 nm of the SiNx layer, providing an optimized interface passivation [1]. A 16 µm thick
nano-crystalline silicon layer was deposited by electron-beam evaporation at a heater temperature
of 600 ◦ C. Using PECVD, a highly-doped thin amorphous silicon layer and silicon oxide capping
layer are deposited. During the ensuing liquid phase crystallization, the dopant atoms from the
a-Si layer distribute over the whole silicon absorber, thereby ensuring a homogenous doping
concentration. Liquid phase crystallization is performed with a 5 cm wide line shaped laser
source with a wavelength of 808 nm under vacuum. Subsequently, the silicon oxide capping layer
is removed by wet-chemical etching in hydrofluoric acid. A hydrogen plasma treatment at 600 ◦ C
is carried out in order to reduce defects in the LPC silicon absorber [15]. Reference samples were
wet-chemically etched in a KOH-containing solution, resulting in a random pyramid texture (Fig.
1, KOH), representing the state-of-the-art texturing method [1, 6].
Honeycomb structures were produced on silicon wafers for use as master structures in nano-
imprint lithography [16]. For this, a thermally grown oxide layer is wet-chemically etched through
a hexagonal hole pattern scribed by photolithography. Master structures with periods 1.5 µm,
3.0 µm and 6.0 µm and height-to-period ratios between 0.1 and 0.3 were produced. For details of
the honeycomb structure production process, the reader is referred to Ref. [13].
For pattern replication of honeycomb structures in LPC silicon, as sketched in Fig. 1, a method
employing a combination of NIL and reactive ion etching (RIE) was developed. In a first step, the
desired texture was replicated in a commercially available organic resist (UVcur06 by microresist
technology GmbH) by UV-NIL. The textured resist serves as a three-dimensional etching mask
in the subsequent reactive ion etching (RIE) process.
For texture replication with high structural fidelity, the etch rates of the resist and LPC silicon
need to be the equivalent. Additionally, the RIE process needs to be highly anisotropic to avoid
texture distortions. The RIE process was optimized for an Oxford Plasmalab 80 Plus etcher. A
gas mixture of 35.7 sccm CHF3 / 14.3 sccm SF6 , chamber pressure of p = 20 mTorr, and plasma
powers of PRF = 100 W and PIC P = 50 W were identified as optimal conditions for texture
replication from UVcur06 to LPC silicon. Possible resist residues are removed by an oxygen
plasma treatment.

Fig. 1. Schematic fabrication processes of micro-textures in liquid phase crystallized silicon.

Upper row: Honeycomb textures produced by nano-imprint lithography (NIL) and subsequent
reactive ion etching (RIE). Lower row: state-of-the-art wet-chemical etching of random
pyramidal textures in potassium hydroxide (KOH).

Textured LPC silicon surfaces were characterized using a KEYENCE laser scanning confocal
microscope and Park Systems XE-70 atomic force microscope (AFM). Absorption measurements
were performed using a Lambda 1050 photospectrometer with the samples placed in an integrating
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A501

sphere. Heterojunction solar cells with a lithography-free processing were produced according to
the cell design described in Haschke et al. [17], therein denoted as test structure. While these
cells typically exhibit a low fill factor, they allow to determine the solar cell characteristics, in
particular the external quantum efficiency (EQE). EQE was measured using a home-made setup
with a spot size of 3 × 2 mm2 .

3. Structural analysis
The surface of LPC silicon layers with textured rear-sides were analyzed with respect to the
dependency of the texturing method on the silicon crystal grain orientation and are illustrated
in Fig. 2. Additionally to the random pyramid texture by wet-chemical etching in KOH and
honeycomb textures, the study is extended to a random micro-texture based on reactive ion
etching in a SF6 /O2 plasma proposed by Moreno et al. [19, 20] and a periodic array of inverted
pyramids with a period of 1.25 µm and a pyramid base of 1.0 µm produced by NIL+RIE. For
the sample textured by wet-chemical etching in KOH, the surface measured by laser scanning
confocal microscopy reveals that pyramids on different grains are tilted with a distinct tilting
angle. This is attributed to the wet-chemical texturing mechanism stemming from different etch
rates on different grain orientations, giving rise to pyramids with (111) facets [18]. The SF6 /O2
plasma texturing leads to small random pyramid-like shapes and larger bowl-shaped features,
whereby the texturing is independent of grain orientation. The same holds for LPC silicon
layers textured by NIL+RIE (second row), where the same texture is found on both grains. The
successful replication of both, an inverted pyramid array and honeycomb textures, demonstrates
that the NIL+RIE method is suitable for smooth as well as sharp-edged textures.

Fig. 2. Laser scanning confocal microscope images of the back-side textures investigated,
namely a random pyramid texture produced by wet-chemical etching in potassium hydroxide
(KOH texture), a random micro-texture produced by reactive ion etching in SF6 /O2 plasma
(SF6 /O2 texture) [19], an array of inverted pyramids and honeycomb textures produced by
NIL+RIE. All images contain one grain boundary, which is highlighted by an arrow.
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A502

The surface of different honeycomb textures was investigated using laser scanning confocal
microscopy in Fig. 3(a). Using NIL+RIE, a wide variety of honeycomb textures with periods
between P = 1.5 µm and P = 6.0 µm and heights from h = 0.13 µm to h = 1.4 µm could
successfully be reproduced in LPC silicon. Apart from single defects that are attributed to the
mastering process, the textures could be replicated with high structural fidelity and homogeneity.
As discussed earlier, the NIL+RIE textures are independent of grain orientation, in contrast to the
random pyramid texture produced by wet-chemical etching in KOH.

Fig. 3. (a) Laser scanning confocal microscope images of honeycomb textures for periods of
P = 6.0 µm, P = 3.0 µm, and P = 1.5 µm and a height-to-period ratio of 0.2. Highlighted
in blue are the surface profiles analyzed in atomic force microscopy. (b) Surface profiles
measured by atomic force microscopy of a LPC silicon surface with honeycomb texture with
periods of 6.0 µm (black) and 1.5 µm (blue).

Further investigation of the honeycomb textures etched into LPC silicon surface is performed
using atomic force microscopy. Figure 3(b) exhibits surface profiles of two distinct honeycomb
textures, one with a period of 1.5 µm and a height of 125 nm (blue) and one with a period of 6.0 µm
and height of 1.4 µm (black). The profiles of the respective sample types (the height-to-period
ratio differs for the samples shown in Fig. 3(a) and 3(b)) are sketched as blue lines in the surface
images in Fig. 3(a). For better comparison of the structures, the axes of the smaller texture (right
axes) were stretched by a factor of 4, the ratio of the samples’ periods. Both textures exhibit the
characteristic surface profile of the honeycomb pattern. For the sample with a period of 1.5 µm,
the height in the LPC silicon is reduced by 25 nm to 100 nm due to height reduction during
nano-imprinting or reactive ion etching. For the larger texture, in contrast, no height reduction
could be observed. In parts, the structure is even higher than on the master by about 100 nm.
These deviations are attributed to inhomogeneities in manufacturing and characterization of both
masters and NIL+RIE samples.
Nonetheless, the surface analysis proves the applicability of the NIL+RIE method to master
structures with a wide range of textures, periods, and heights. In contrary to the KOH pyramid
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A503

texturing employed in state-of-the-art LPC silicon solar cells, the quality of the micro-textures
produced by NIL+RIE does not depend on silicon crystal grain orientation.

4. Optical properties of LPC silicon with honeycomb textures

The absorption characteristics of LPC silicon absorbers with honeycomb textures produced by
NIL+RIE (see inset in Fig. 4 for the measured layer stack) were studied with respect to their
optimum geometrical parameters. Figure 4 illustrates the mean absorptance from 800 nm to
1100 nm of 16 µm thick silicon absorbers with honeycomb textures for varied height-to-period
ratios and periods of 1.5 µm (green), 3.0 µm (blue), and 6.0 µm (red). For 1.5 µm and 3.0 µm, the
shallow textures with a height-to-period ratio of 0.1 or less do not increase absorption. All other
structured silicon layers absorb more light than the reference with a planar back-side (black line).
For all periods, a higher height-to-period ratio leads to increased absorption. This is attributed to
an increase in scattering and scattering into higher angles. Comparing the periods for a constant
height-to-period ratio of 0.2, it is found that absorptance in the long wavelength range is higher
for larger periods. While absolute differences are small, the absorber with a period of 6.0 µm and
a height-to-period ratio of 0.2 provides the best light trapping ability and will therefore be further
evaluated in the following.

Fig. 4. Mean absorptance between 800 nm and 1100 nm of 16 µm thick LPC silicon absorbers
with honeycomb textures produced by NIL+RIE, for periods P = 1.5 µm (green), 3.0 µm
(blue), and 6.0 µm (red) and varied height-to-period ratios.

Figure 5 represents the absorption of 16 µm thick LPC silicon absorbers with the produced
light-trapping textures at the back-side. For clarity, only the optimized honeycomb texture (period
6.0 µm and height-to-period ratio 0.2) is depicted next to the inverted pyramid array produced by
NIL+RIE (yellow), the random micro-texture (SF6 /O2 texture, magenta) introduced by Moreno
et al. [19] and the random pyramid texture produced by wet-chemical etching in KOH (KOH
texture, black).
While the random micro-texture produced using a SF6 /O2 plasma provided anti-reflective
properties for silicon wafer solar cells [20], they do not exhibit a strong light-trapping effect in
LPC silicon (Fig. 5, magenta curve). The inverted pyramid array does enhance absorption in the
long wavelength range, but absorbs less light than the honeycomb structure. Compared to the
state-of-the-art KOH texture employed in current LPC silicon record devices [1], the honeycomb
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A504

Fig. 5. Absorptance of 16 µm thick LPC silicon absorbers with different back-side texture.

texture exhibits a slightly lower absorption in the wavelength regime from 700 nm to 900 nm.
Optical properties of the LPC silicon absorbers discussed here are found to be comparable
to those of interdigitated back contacted (IBC) heterojunction solar cell presented in Ref. [1].
Hence, it is assumed that characteristics of the back-side textures presented in this study can be
transferred to IBC solar cells.
As the pyramid tilting angle of the KOH texture was found to depend on the grain orientation,
its light trapping characteristics are expected to vary over the sample, depending on the tilting
angle of the pyramids. Absorption measurements were performed on four different spots on
the samples with KOH pyramid texture and the optimized honeycomb texture, whereby a spot
diameter of 0.4 cm was used to measure on individual grains. Mean absorptance and standard
deviation over these four measurements are depicted in Fig. 6.

Fig. 6. Mean absorptance and standard deviation for four spots on 16 µm thick multi-
crystalline LPC silicon absorbers with a KOH pyramid texture (black) and the optimized
honeycomb texture (red), highlighted for the wavelength range from 700 nm to 1200 nm.
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A505

Contrary to the expected variation in absorption for the grain-orientation dependent KOH
texture, no significant changes were measured on the four grains. Designated experimental designs
or simulations of pyramids with varying angles in the future will shed light on the dependency
of optical properties on the tilting angles of the pyramids on differently oriented silicon crystal
grains. For both textures, absorption varies by about ±3% and within the error range, absorption
values are the same. The difference in absorptance in the wavelength range from 700 nm to
900 nm found for the individual measurement presented in Fig. 5 is less pronounced for the
averaged absorptance. Therefore, absorptance of the LPC silicon layers with honeycomb textured
back-side is comparable to KOH pyramids if statistical variations and measurement inaccuracies
are considered.
As the position of the sun varies during the day and year, the angular dependency of the
absorption should be taken into account to further assess the suitability of honeycomb and KOH
textures for application as back-side structures in LPC silicon thin-film solar cells. Absorption
was measured depending on the incident angle of the light. Figure 7 presents the mean value
of absorptance from 700 nm to 1100 nm for a 16 µm thick LPC silicon absorber with a planar
(grey), KOH textured (black) and optimized honeycomb textured (red) back-side.

Fig. 7. Mean absorptance from 700 nm to 1100 nm in dependency of the angle of incidence
of the incoming light for 16 µm thick LPC silicon absorbers with a planar back-side (grey),
KOH pyramid texture (black) and the optimized honeycomb texture (red).

Mean absorption is higher by about 20 % (absolute) for both textures compared to a planar
back-side over the whole range of incident angles. Comparing the change of absorption with
the angle of incidence, only small differences are found, indicating that the angular dependency
is dominated by the front side of the devices, which is identical for all samples. As discussed
for the optical properties at normal incidence, the KOH texture and honeycomb texture exhibit
equivalent absorption characteristics also for oblique angles of incidence.

5. Solar cell results

Solar cells were produced on LPC silicon absorbers with the optically most promising textures,
namely the KOH texture and a honeycomb texture with a period of 6.0 µm and height of 1.2 µm
produced by NIL+RIE. To investigate the influence of the NIL+RIE method on the LPC silicon
absorber, in particular the ion bombardment during RIE, measurements of EQE (solid) were
performed. EQE results for a LPC silicon thin-film solar cell with a KOH texture (black) and
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A506

honeycomb texture (red) at the back-side are illustrated in Fig. 8. For reference, the absorptance
(dashed) is depicted.

Fig. 8. External quantum efficiency (EQE, solid) and absorptance (dashed) for LPC silicon
thin-film solar cells with a KOH textured (black) and honeycomb textured (red) back-side.

EQE of both textured cells is analogous. Small deviations in the wavelength ranges from
350 nm to 450 nm and 700 nm to 1000 nm lie within the variation on one substrate and are
therefore considered negligible. As both EQE and absorptance of the textured solar cells are
equivalent, this also holds for the material quality of the LPC silicon absorber layers. Thus, the
RIE process does not cause additional defects at the LPC silicon surface and is therefore suitable
as a production method for tailor-made micro-structures for light trapping at the back-side of
LPC silicon thin-film solar cells. Short-circuit current densities calculated from EQE amount
to 28.7 mA cm−2 and 28.8 mA cm−2 for the solar cells with a honeycomb texture produced by
NIL+RIE and KOH pyramid texture, respectively. For this study, no additional light management
measures, e.g. an anti-reflective foil at the air-glass interface, were employed, making these values
comparable to state-of-the-art record LPC devices [1].

6. Conclusion
A method for the replication of tailor-made micro-textures in LPC silicon thin-film solar cells on
glass based on a combination of nano-imprint lithography (NIL) and reactive ion etching (RIE)
was presented. A nano-imprinted resist layer served as a three-dimensional etching mask in the
subsequent reactive ion etching, allowing to replicate the imprinted pattern in the underlying
crystalline silicon absorber material. In particular, the method was applied to honeycomb
structures that were developed as light trapping textures in micro-crystalline silicon thin-film
solar cells and an inverted pyramid array with a period of 1.25 µm. It was demonstrated that both
the smooth honeycomb texture and the sharp-edged pyramid structure could be replicated in LPC
silicon with high structural fidelity. For the honeycomb texture, patterns with periods between
1.5 µm and 6.0 µm and height-to-period ratios from 0.1 to 0.3 were replicated. It was shown that
the NIL+RIE method is independent of grain orientation, in contrast to the state-of-the-art KOH
texturing employed in current LPC silicon record devices. Hence, the NIL+RIE method allowed
to produce tailor-made micro-textures for a wide range of texture geometry, periods, and heights,
while being independent of the orientation of the silicon crystal grains.
A detailed analysis of the absorption characteristics of honeycomb textured LPC silicon
absorbers was carried out. Optimum parameters for light trapping, with a period of 6.0 µm and
 Vol. 26, No. 10 | 14 May 2018 | OPTICS EXPRESS A507

a height-to-period ratio of 0.2, could thereby be identified. The absorption of this optimized
honeycomb texture was compared to the inverted pyramid array, a random micro-texture produced
by RIE etching in a SF6 /O2 plasma, and a random micro-pyramid texture produced by wet-
chemical etching. It was found that the honeycomb and random pyramid texture are the most
promising textures for light trapping.
Statistical analysis and angle-dependent absorptance measurements revealed that the optical
properties of both, the LPC silicon absorber with KOH pyramids and with an optimized
honeycomb texture, are equivalent. Additionally, solar cell results in form of external quantum
efficiency were presented. Material quality for the honeycomb texture produced by NIL+RIE was
found to be equal to that of the state-of-the-art KOH texture, as demonstrated by short-circuit
current densities of 28.7 mA cm−2 and 28.8 mA cm−2 , respectively.
Combining NIL and RIE therefore provides a suitable method to produce tailor-made light
trapping textures in multi-crystalline silicon independent of the crystal grain orientation. The
NIL+RIE method enables to systematically tailor the texture dimensions and thus yields the
potential to improve light trapping and, thereby, short-circuit current density in liquid phase
crystallized silicon thin-film solar cells.

Funding
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (501100002347) (No. 03X5520).

Acknowledgments
The authors thank M. Krüger, M. Muske, I. Rudolph, and C. Klimm for their support with
experimental work and SEM imaging. GP Solar is acknowledged for providing the Alkatex
IPA-free texturing agent. Part of the photolithography process was conducted at the AIST
Nano-Processing Facility, supported by the ”Nanotechnology Network Japan” of the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT). K. Masuda is ackknowledged
for his assistance in photolithography.