Self-assembled nanotextures impart broadband transparency to glass windows and solar cell encapsulants
[1];
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials; Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA (United States). Wellman Center for Photomedicine. Massachusetts General Hospital
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials; Indian Inst. of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune (India). Dept. of Physics
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Most optoelectronic components and consumer display devices require glass or plastic covers for protection against the environment. Optical reflections from these encapsulation layers can degrade the device performance or lessen the user experience. In this paper, we use a highly scalable self-assembly based approach to texture glass surfaces at the nanoscale, reducing reflections by such an extent so as to make the glass essentially invisible. Our nanotextures provide broadband antireflection spanning visible and infrared wavelengths (450–2500 nm) that is effective even at large angles of incidence. This technology can be used to improve the performance of photovoltaic devices by eliminating reflection losses, which can be as much as 8% for glass encapsulated cells. In contrast, solar cells encapsulated with nanotextured glass generate the same photocurrent as when operated without a cover. Finally, ultra-transparent windows having surface nanotextures on both sides can withstand three times more optical fluence than commercial broadband antireflection coatings, making them useful for pulsed laser applications.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0012704
- OSTI ID:
- 1433972
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1405545
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-203507-2018-JAAM; TRN: US1802813
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 111, Issue 18; ISSN 0003-6951
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Review of Recent Advances in Applications of Vapor-Phase Material Infiltration Based on Atomic Layer Deposition
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journal | September 2018 |
Review—Recent Advances in Block-Copolymer Nanostructured Subwavelength Antireflective Surfaces
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journal | September 2019 |
Nanostructured Hybrid-Material Transparent Surface with Antireflection Properties and a Facile Fabrication Process
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journal | November 2019 |
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