Photovoltaic semiconductor devices and associated methods
Photovoltaic semiconductor devices and associated methods are provided. In one aspect, for example, a method of making a photovoltaic semiconductor device having enhanced electromagnetic radiation absorption can include applying a damage removal etch (DRE) to a semiconductor material to an RMS surface roughness of from about 0.5 nm to about 50 nm and texturing a single side of the semiconductor material. The texturing further includes irradiating a target region of the semiconductor material with laser radiation to create features having a size of from about 50 nm to about 10 microns.
1. A method of making a photovoltaic semiconductor device having enhanced electromagnetic radiation absorption, comprising:
applying a damage removal etch to a semiconductor material to create an RMS surface roughness of from about 0.5 nm to about 50 nm; and
texturing a single side of the semiconductor material, wherein the texturing further includes irradiating a target region of the semiconductor material with laser radiation to create features having a size of from about 50 nm to about 10 microns.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the damage removal etch is applied to create an RMS surface roughness of from about 0.5 nm to about 5 nm.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the features have a size of from about 0.3 microns to about 2 microns.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target region includes a localized portion of the single side of the semiconductor material.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein irradiation is performed using a pulsed laser selected from the group consisting of a femtosecond laser, a picosecond laser, a nanosecond laser, and combinations thereof.
6. The method of claim 2 , wherein irradiating the target region of the semiconductor material further includes exposing the laser radiation to a dopant such that the irradiation incorporates the dopant into the semiconductor material.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising activating the dopant at a temperature of greater than 700° C.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the dopant is incorporated in a localized portion of the semiconductor material to form a selective emitter.
9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the dopant is incorporated in a localized portion of the semiconductor material to form an emitter.
10. The method of claim 6 , further comprising coupling a metal paste to the semiconductor material.
11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising heating the semiconductor material to a temperature of greater than about 700° C. to simultaneously activate the dopant and bond the metal paste to the semiconductor material.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor material has a low oxygen content and the texturing is performed in a substantially oxygen-depleted environment.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising annealing the semiconductor material to a temperature of from about 300° C. to about 1100° C.
14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising annealing the semiconductor material to a temperature of from about 500° C. to about 900° C.
15. A method of making a photovoltaic semiconductor device having enhanced electromagnetic radiation absorption, comprising:
applying a damage removal etch to a semiconductor material to create an RMS surface roughness of from about 0.5 nm to about 50 nm;
applying laser radiation through a dopant material and onto a target region to texture and dope a portion of the semiconductor material;
applying a least one metal contact to the semiconductor material; and
annealing the semiconductor material to a temperature of from about 300° C. to about 1100° C.
16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising applying a passivation layer to a portion of the semiconductor material.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the laser radiation creates features having a size of from about 50 nm to about 10 microns.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the features have a size of from about 0.3 microns to about 2 microns.
19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the damage removal etch is applied to create an RMS surface roughness of from about 0.5 nm to about 5 nm.