Highly textured multi-crystalline silicon surface obtained by dry etching multi-step process

In this work we propose the use of a plasma dry etching technique to condition the morphology of a silicon surface. The low environmental impacted NF3 halogen compound is adopted together with Ar to perform a multi-step process which helps to enhance the silicon surface texturing, thus reducing the time needed for the whole dry etching procedure, which also include saw damage removal on silicon wafers. A detailed study of surface reflectance and etching rate as a function of the dry plasma process parameters is discussed to achieve suitable multi-crystalline silicon surfaces for photovoltaic applications. •Effect of NF3 plasma using Ar to enhance the dry etching process of multi-crystalline silicon surface.•Multi-step plasma etching to reduce the etching time of saw damage removal and texturing of mc-Si surface.•Homogeneous textured mc-Si surface with suitable surface passivation for PV applications has been achieved.