Evaluating the Impact of Upright and Inverted Pyramid Microstructures on the Optical Performance of Single Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

This study examines the optical performance of single crystalline silicon solar cells with upright and inverted pyramid microstructures fabricated via Alkaline Chemical Etching and Metal Assisted Chemical Etching (MACE), respectively. Spectrophotometric and Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) analyses were used to evaluate light absorption and optical confinement. The weighted average reflectance results showed that inverted pyramids made with MACE had a significantly lower reflectance of 4.40% compared to 7.89% for upright pyramids, indicating superior light-trapping efficiency. This advantage is attributed to the favorable angular geometry and finer resolution of the MACE-fabricated inverted pyramids. These findings emphasize the importance of microstructural design and advanced fabrication techniques in enhancing the optical properties of photovoltaic materials, suggesting that tailored microfabrication strategies could significantly improve solar cell efficiency.