Texturing Technology on Multicrystalline Silicon Wafer by Metal-catalyzed Chemical Etching: a Review

doi:10.15541/jim20200361

Abstract

Abstract:

In the production process of multicrystalline silicon solar cells, diamond wire sawn (DWS) cutting technology attracts wide attention because of its advantages of high cutting speed, high precision and less loss of raw materials. But the traditional acid etching technology cannot match the shallow damage layer formed on the surface of diamond wire sawn cut multicrystalline silicon wafer to make the texture surface. On the contrary, the metal-catalyzed chemical etching method owns the advantages of simple operation, controllable structure and easy to form the structure with high aspect ratio, indicating a wide range of application on diamond wire sawn cut multicrystalline silicon wafer. This paper systematically summarizes the work of the etching mechanisms and the structures of textures by different metal catalysts in the process of making texture surface, and deeply discusses the single and composite catalytic etching process of Ag and Cu, the structure of texture surface, and the performance of solar cells. Finally, the problems of metal-catalyzed chemical etching on the surface of diamond wire sawn cut multicrystalline silicon are analyzed, and their future research directions are prospected.

Key words: diamond wire sawn cut, multicrystalline silicon, metal-catalyzed chemical etching, texturization, review

CLC Number:

TM914

WU Xiaowei, LI Jiayan. Texturing Technology on Multicrystalline Silicon Wafer by Metal-catalyzed Chemical Etching: a Review[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2021, 36(6): 570-578.

Figures/Tables 12

References 66

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Catalyst	Method	R^a	η^b	Ref.
Ag	Ag-MCCE + HF/HNO₃+NaOH	15.9%	18.45%	[31]
Ag	Artificial defects (HF/HNO₃/AgNO₃)+HF/HNO₃	19%	19.07%	[33]
Ag	Alkali etching+Ag-MCCE+post etching	16.85%	19.4%	[34]
Ag	Ag deposition (additive)+etching	16.04%	19.51%	[35]
Ag	Ag deposition+etching (additive)	18.17%	19.56%	[36]
Ag	HF/HNO₃+Ag-MCCE+RIE	-	20.69%	[56]
Ag	Ag-MCCE	23.7%	20.89%	[57]
Ag	Ag-MCCE+Modification by acid etching	19.46%	19.07%	[58]
Ag	HF/HNO₃+Ag-MCCE+NSR process	8.26%	17.96%	[59]
Ag	HF/HNO₃+Ag-MCCE+HF/HNO₃	18.4%	18.7%	[60]
Cu	Cu-MCCE+post etching (HF/HNO₃/H₃PO₄)	-	18.88%	[41]
Cu	Cu-MCCE+HF/HNO₃	18.21%	19.06%	[42]
Cu	Cu-MCCE	22.4%	19.03%	[61]
Ag-Cu	Cu/Ag-MCCE	12.08%	19.49%	[45]
Ag-Cu	Alkali pretreatment (additive)+Cu/Ag-MCCE+post etching	15.52%	18.91%	[62]
Ag-Cu	Cu/Ag-MCCE + NSR (H₂O₂/NaF)	16.50%	18.71%	[63]
Ag-Cu	Cu/Ag-MCCE + NSR (H₂O₂/NaF)	16.85%	19.10%	[64]
Ni	Ni-MCCE	-	16.60%	[47]
Cu-Ni	Cu/Ni-MCCE (Cu(NO₃)₂+NiSO₄+HF+H₂O₂)	18.53%	-	[48]

Catalyst	Method	R^a	η^b	Ref.
Ag	Ag-MCCE + HF/HNO₃+NaOH	15.9%	18.45%	[31]
Ag	Artificial defects (HF/HNO₃/AgNO₃)+HF/HNO₃	19%	19.07%	[33]
Ag	Alkali etching+Ag-MCCE+post etching	16.85%	19.4%	[34]
Ag	Ag deposition (additive)+etching	16.04%	19.51%	[35]
Ag	Ag deposition+etching (additive)	18.17%	19.56%	[36]
Ag	HF/HNO₃+Ag-MCCE+RIE	-	20.69%	[56]
Ag	Ag-MCCE	23.7%	20.89%	[57]
Ag	Ag-MCCE+Modification by acid etching	19.46%	19.07%	[58]
Ag	HF/HNO₃+Ag-MCCE+NSR process	8.26%	17.96%	[59]
Ag	HF/HNO₃+Ag-MCCE+HF/HNO₃	18.4%	18.7%	[60]
Cu	Cu-MCCE+post etching (HF/HNO₃/H₃PO₄)	-	18.88%	[41]
Cu	Cu-MCCE+HF/HNO₃	18.21%	19.06%	[42]
Cu	Cu-MCCE	22.4%	19.03%	[61]
Ag-Cu	Cu/Ag-MCCE	12.08%	19.49%	[45]
Ag-Cu	Alkali pretreatment (additive)+Cu/Ag-MCCE+post etching	15.52%	18.91%	[62]
Ag-Cu	Cu/Ag-MCCE + NSR (H₂O₂/NaF)	16.50%	18.71%	[63]
Ag-Cu	Cu/Ag-MCCE + NSR (H₂O₂/NaF)	16.85%	19.10%	[64]
Ni	Ni-MCCE	-	16.60%	[47]
Cu-Ni	Cu/Ni-MCCE (Cu(NO₃)₂+NiSO₄+HF+H₂O₂)	18.53%	-	[48]

Method	Advantages	Disadvantages	η
Ag-MCCE	Mature technology, easy to form nanostructure, stable performance	High cost, difficult to recycle waste liquid	20.89%
Cu-MCCE	Low cost, easy to remove residual Cu, significantly reduce the impact of saw marks	Easy to form the dense film, decreased etching rate, essential oxidants	19.06%
MCCE-additive	Uniform size, stable performance	Organic compounds increasing the cost of waste liquid treatment	19.56%
Composite MCCE	Composite structure	Complicated process, and difficult to recycle the waste liquid	19.49%
Other metal-MCCE	Low cost, composite structure	Inmature	16.60%

Method	Advantages	Disadvantages	η
Ag-MCCE	Mature technology, easy to form nanostructure, stable performance	High cost, difficult to recycle waste liquid	20.89%
Cu-MCCE	Low cost, easy to remove residual Cu, significantly reduce the impact of saw marks	Easy to form the dense film, decreased etching rate, essential oxidants	19.06%
MCCE-additive	Uniform size, stable performance	Organic compounds increasing the cost of waste liquid treatment	19.56%
Composite MCCE	Composite structure	Complicated process, and difficult to recycle the waste liquid	19.49%
Other metal-MCCE	Low cost, composite structure	Inmature	16.60%