Photovoltaic properties of black silicon microstructured by femtosecond pulsed laser

Prototype devices based on black silicon have been fabricated by microstructuring 250 mu m thick multicrystalline n doped silicon wafers using femtosecond pulsed laser in ambient gas of SF6 to measure its photovoltaic properties. The enhanced optical absorption of black silicon extends across the visible region and all the black silicons prepared in this work exhibit enhanced optical absorption close to 90% from 300 nm to 800 nm. The highest open-circuit voltage (V-oc) and short-circuit current (I-sc) under the illumination of He-Ne continuous laser at 632.8 nm were measured to be 53.3 mV and 0.11 mA, respectively at a maximum power conversion efficiency of 1.44%. Upon excitation with He-Ne continuous laser at 632.8 nm, external quantum efficiency (EQE) of black silicon as high as 112.9% has also been observed. Development of black silicon for photovoltaic purposes could open up a new perspective in achieving high efficient silicon-based solar cell by means of the enhanced optical absorption in the visible region. The current-voltage characteristic and photo responsivity of these prototype devices fabricated with microstructured silicon were also investigated. (C) 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.