The broadband anti-reflective (AR) properties of hierarchical structures (HSs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years as a means to reduce Fresnel reflection in photovoltaic solar cell materials. This study employed polystyrene sphere lithography in conjunction with high density plasma dry etching in the fabrication of pure sub-wavelength structures and HSs on an as-cut p-Si substrate. Etching parameters, such as RF power, O-2, and etching time, were adjusted to alter the surface morphology. Experiment results demonstrate that the resulting hierarchical paraboloidal structures suppress average reflectance to below 0.5% across a spectral range of 500-1000 nm. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.