Nano-textured thin silicon has promise for improved photovoltaic cells

Creating thin photovoltaic cells has long been a goal of researchers working in the field of crystalline silicon. Thinner cells can be semi-transparent or flexible, making them more versatile than thick cells, and also they use less material, reducing the cost of the cells. But reducing the thickness is fraught with difficulty. Cutting a thin layer from a block of silicon causes loss of material, known as kerf loss. Moreover, thinner silicon films absorb less light than thicker ones; photons, especially ones at longer light wavelengths, can pass straight through the film before their energy is absorbed.

The new research brings together a team drawn from different disciplines within the photovoltaic community to tackle these problems. “The core of this project was to bring together researchers from the different fields needed (photovoltaics, photonics, nanostructuring) to interact directly,” explained research leader Valerie Depauw of imec, a nanoelectronics and digital technologies R&D hub in Leuven, Belgium.