Texture etching of multicrystalline silicon

Random texturing of monocrystalline silicon sheets by means of alkaline etches is a standard method in solar cell manufacturing. In contrast, polycrystalline silicon cannot readily be texturized by means of a simple anisotropic chemical etch due to different grain orientations. Therefore, plasma etches and laser texturizing are being considered. This paper presents approaches for wet chemical etching of multicrystalline silicon slices in order to achieve substantial reduction of light reflection. The results obtained so far are comparable to those achieved by plasma etching and exceed those reported so far in the literature for wet chemical etching.