Method for fabricating textured high-haze ZnO:Al transparent conduction oxide films on chemically etched glass substrates

We developed a technique for forming textured aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films on glass substrates, which were etched using a mixture of hydrofluoric (HF) and hydrochloric (HCl) acids. The etching depth and surface roughness increased with an increase in the HF content and the etching time. The HF-based residues produced insoluble hexafluorosilicate anion- and oxide impurity-based semipermeable films, which reduced the etching rate. Using a small amount of HCl dissolved the Ca compounds, helping to fragment the semipermeable film. This formed random, complex structures on the glass substrates. The angled deposition of three layers of ZnO:Al led to the synthesis of multiscaled ZnO:Al textures on the glass substrates. The proposed approach resulted in textured ZnO:Al TCO films that exhibited high transmittance (∼80%) and high haze (>40%) values over wavelengths of 400-1000 nm, as well as low sheet resistances (<18 Ω/sq). Si tandem solar cells based on the ZnO:Al textured TCO films exhibited photocurrents and cell efficiencies that were 40% higher than those of cells with conventional TCO films.