This contribution deals with the black silicon (BS) nanocrystalline specimens produced using the surface structure chemical transfer method (SSCT). This method can produce a nanocrystalline Si black color layer on c-Si with a thickness range of ~50 nm to ~300 nm via the contact of c-Si immersed in the chemical solution HF + H 2 O 2 with a catalytic mesh. The photoluminescence properties are related to the formation of nanocrystals, the structural properties of which are similar to those formed

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... n the back of a sawn Si wafer and the resulting splitting of large Si crystals. X-ray diffraction of the Si front and back sides confirms the dominant reflection of the 311 Si crystalline planes. We suppose that the formation of the black silicon over-layer is pre-determined by the crystalline defects induced by the applied sawing procedure, even though saw damage (defects introduced by the applied sawing procedure) is not necessary for the SSCT method. The formation of the pn type Si solar cell is presented, including black silicon over-layer and without antireflection coating, with efficiency of ~19.1%.