Nano silver-catalyzed chemical etching of polycrystalline silicon wafer for solar cell application

Silver nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of polycrystalline silicon wafer via vacuum thermal evaporation and metal-catalyzed chemical etching (MCCE) was conducted in a HF-H2O2 etching system. Treatment of the etched silicon wafer with HF transformed the textured structure on the surface from nanorods into nanocones. An etching time of 30 s and treatment with HF resulted in nanocones with uniform size distribution and a reflectivity as low as 1.98% across a spectral range from 300 to 1000 nm.