Black multi-crystalline silicon solar cells

A simple method for nano-scale texturing of silicon surfaces based on local metal-catalyzed wet chemical etching, which results in an almost complete suppression of reflectivity in a broad spectral range, has been successfully applied to produce black multi-crystalline silicon solar cells. The performance of the cells is compared to that of reference cells without surface nano-texturing. A considerable increase of the short circuit current (by 36-42% with respect to the reference cells) without deterioration of other performance parameters is observed under natural sun illumination. Means of further optimization of such black solar cells are discussed.