Effective light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells from textured Al doped ZnO substrates with broad surface feature distributions

We used a multi-step process to make aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) films with a wide range distribution of textures for light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells, which includes AZO deposition, HCl etching, AZO re-deposition, and HCl re-etching. The large features created by the first etching provide an effective light trapping for long wavelength light; the small features from the second etching enhances the short wavelength light trapping. Microcrystalline silicon solar cells deposited on the above-mentioned AZO show an improved photocurrent density without loss in the open-circuit voltage and fill factor, resulting in an overall increase in efficiency by 14.64%.