This report details the employment of Metal-Assisted Etching (MAE) to fabricate SLIVER solar cells. This method not only produced spiral structures for maximum wafer utilization but also textured features which enabled light trapping to enhance the optical efficiency within the solar cells without additional processing steps.
Report extract
The project involved the groove etching of SLIVER solar cells using a metal-assisted etch (MAE) of silicon (Si) wafers. SLIVER solar cells are the product of a pioneering project at the Australian National University by Prof. Andrew Blakers and Ass.Prof Klaus Weber. A SLIVER solar cell is a cell that is manufactured through the micromachining of narrow, deep grooves along a Si wafer surface to produce a solar cell that is narrow, thin, bifacial and flexible.