Femtosecond laser texturization for improvement of photovoltaic cells: Black Silicon

We have irradiated silicon with a series of femtosecond laser pulses to improve light absorption of photovoltaic solar cells. The black silicon shows excellent optical properties on mono and multicrystalline silicon wafers with a reflectivity down to 3 %, without crystal orientation dependence. After the laser process, the front side of samples have been boron-implanted by Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation to create the 3D p+ junction. Improved electrical performances have also been demonstrated with a 57 % increase in the photocurrent, compared to the non-texturized surface.