Effect of quasi-monocrystalline porous silicon at the backside on the photovoltaic parameters of a polycrystalline silicon solar cell

A three-dimensional model that simulates the performance of quasimonocrystalline porous silicon (QMPS) at the backside reflector of an elementary polysilicon solar cell is developed. Analytical expression for the photocurrent generated under the effect of the reflected light is derived in the base region. An improvement effect is obtained on the photovoltaic parameters compared to conventional BSF polysilicon solar cell (without QMPS). The QMPS layer gives an improvement which overtakes 4 mA/cm2 for the photocurrent, and 2.25 % for the cell efficiency. In addition, the effect of the QMPS layer is more important for a thin solar cell with passivated grain boundaries.