Broadband antireflection and absorption enhancement of ultrathin silicon solar microcells enabled with density-graded surface nanostructures
- Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Density-graded surface nanostructures are implemented on ultrathin silicon solar microcells by silver-nanoparticle-catalyzed wet chemical etching to enable near-zero surface reflection over a broad wavelength range of incident solar spectrum as well as non-zeroth order diffraction and light trapping for longer wavelength photons, thereby achieving augmented photon absorption for ultrathin silicon microcells in a simple, cost-effective manner. The increase of absorbed photon flux through the “black silicon (b-Si)” surface translates directly into the corresponding enhancement of photovoltaic performance, where 5.7-μm b-Si microcells with the rational design of device configuration exhibit improved energy conversion efficiency by 148% and 50% with and without a diffuse backside reflector, respectively, compared to devices from the bare silicon without b-Si implementation. Systematic studies on nanostructured morphology, optical and electrical properties of b-Si microcells, together with semi-empirical numerical modeling of photon absorption, provide key aspects of underlying materials science and physics.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Energy Nanoscience (CEN)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0001013
- OSTI ID:
- 1369862
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 104, Issue 22; Related Information: CEN partners with University of Southern California (lead); University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; University of Michigan; University of Virginia; ISSN 0003-6951
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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