Surface texturing for crystalline silicon wafers with wafer tickness down to 100 micrometer

In the photovoltaic industry light trapping by front and rear side texturing is an increasing important issue with decreasing wafer thickness down to 100 µm for saving costs. In this study the impact of backside texturing by application of the Linear Microwave Plasma (LMP) technique in a SF6/O2 plasma chemistry has been investigated. The textured surfaces have been characterized in terms of statistical roughness parameters and the scatter angle distribution function using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Moreover, the reflection and transmission have been determined using an integrating sphere setup. In addition reflection, transmission and absorption have been investigated for the dielectric passivation system which consists of a-SiNx:H front side passivation and AlOx-SiOx rear surface passivation as well as for the multiple layer system which consists of the dielectric passivation system including an aluminium rear side metallization corresponding to the complete solar cell. Keywords: Absorption, Optical Properties, Texturisatio