Wafer Surface Charge Reversal as a Method of Simplifying Nanosphere Lithography for Reactive Ion Etch Texturing of Solar Cells

Inns, Daniel; Campbell, Patrick; Catchpole, Kylie

doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2007/32707

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Recent Advances in Solar Cells

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Research Article | Open Access

Volume 2007 | Article ID 032707 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2007/32707

Wafer Surface Charge Reversal as a Method of Simplifying Nanosphere Lithography for Reactive Ion Etch Texturing of Solar Cells

Daniel Inns,¹Patrick Campbell,¹and Kylie Catchpole¹

Academic Editor: Armin G. Aberle

Received23 Apr 2007

Accepted18 Jul 2007

Published31 Jul 2007

Abstract

A simplified nanosphere lithography process has been developed which allows fast and low-waste maskings of Si surfaces for subsequent reactive ion etching (RIE) texturing. Initially, a positive surface charge is applied to a wafer surface by dipping in a solution of aluminum nitrate. Dipping the positive-coated wafer into a solution of negatively charged silica beads (nanospheres) results in the spheres becoming electrostatically attracted to the wafer surface. These nanospheres form an etch mask for RIE. After RIE texturing, the reflection of the surface is reduced as effectively as any other nanosphere lithography method, while this batch process used for masking is much faster, making it more industrially relevant.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2007 Daniel Inns et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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