Efficient light trapping nanopyramid structures for solar cells patterned using UV nanoimprint lithography

Amalathas, Amalraj Peter; Alkaisi, Maan M.

doi:10.1016/j.mssp.2016.09.032

Cited by 58 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Han et al [18] laminated PVC-textured films to the smooth surface of crystalline silicon cells using the hot embossing method, which reduced the reflection loss of the crystalline silicon cells from 30% to approximately 15%. Amalathas et al [19] fabricated a regular inverted pyramidal textured film onto the smooth surface of the crystalline silicon cells at the nanoscale using the ultraviolet (UV) imprinting embossing technique, which lowered the reflection loss of the smooth surface crystalline silicon cells to approximately 14%.…”

Section: Of 11mentioning

confidence: 99%

Precision Cutting of the Molds of an Optical Functional Texture Film with a Triangular Pyramid Texture

Huang

et al. 2020

Micromachines

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Based on an analysis of the precision and preparation technology of an optical texture film with a triangular pyramid texture, the technical requirements of the original mold were determined, and precision shaping planning technology was adopted to process the original mold. The shape error of the optical texture mold of the triangular pyramid was assessed by defining the area ratio of the retro-reflection. The influence of the tool nose radius and exit burr on the area ratio of the retro-reflection were analyzed. By optimizing the cutting tools, cutting materials and cutting boundaries, a five-axis ultra-precision machining system was used to plan the triangular pyramid structure with a base length of 115 µm and an included angle between two sides of 70.5°. The experimental results indicate that the dimension error of the triangular pyramid element is less than 1 µm, the angle error of the included angle between two sides is less than 0.05°, and the average roughness of the side of the triangular pyramid can reach 9.2 nm, which satisfies the processing quality requirements of the triangular pyramid texture mold.

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Section: Of 11mentioning

confidence: 99%

Precision Cutting of the Molds of an Optical Functional Texture Film with a Triangular Pyramid Texture

Huang

et al. 2020

Micromachines

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“…More details of the UV nanoimprint process parameters and the tools which were used are described in Ref. [11].…”

Section: Surface Wettability and Self-cleaning Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nanostructures can be fabricated by various techniques, including electron beam lithography (EBL) [7], laser interference lithography (LIL) [8,9], nanoimprint lithography (NIL) [10,11], nanosphere lithography (NSL) [12] and block copolymer lithography (BCPL) [13]. Among them, the UV nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) is emerging as a powerful technique for fabricating nanoscale structures on large scale surfaces with simple, high-throughput, low-cost and high-resolution manufacturing capability [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanopyramid Structures with Light Harvesting and Self- Cleaning Properties for Solar Cells

Amalathas¹,

Alkaisi²

2018

Emerging Solar Energy Materials

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In this chapter, inverted and upright nanopyramid structures with light-harvesting properties and self-cleaning hydrophobic surfaces suitable for solar cells are presented. Periodic nanopyramid structures with 400-700 nm features were fabricated using interference lithography and combined dry and wet etching processes. The inverted nanopyramids (INP) were applied at the front side of the solar cells using UV nanoimprint lithography. These structures provided effective light-trapping properties and led to oblique angle light scattering and a significant reduction in reflectance resulting in higher power conversion efficiency. The second type, the periodic upright nanopyramid (UNP) structures were applied on a glass substrate by UV nanoimprint process. The glass cover is also utilized as a protective encapsulant front layer. The use of the upright nanopyramid structured cover glass in the encapsulated solar cell has also enhanced the power conversion efficiency due to the antireflection and strong light-scattering properties compared to the bare cover glass. In addition, the upright nanopyramid structured cover glass exhibited excellent self-cleaning of dust particles by rolling down water droplets. These results suggest that the nanopyramid structures with light-harvesting and self-cleaning properties can improve the performance of different types of solar cells, including thin films and glass-based PVs.

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“…A variety of photonic nanostructures [7] have been extensively studied. Especially, the micro-pyramid structure has been proved to be one of the most effective anti-reflective textures [8][9][10]. The pyramid structures can increase the optical path length by factors as high as 40 and have been experimentally demonstrated to be one of the most efficient light-trapping structures [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the pyramid structure cannot be well prepared by these above methods. Previous studies have already shown many alternative approaches [8,13,14] and nano-imprint lithography (NIL) has proved to be more appropriate for processing the large-area surface texture [15][16][17][18][19][20]. Meanwhile, wet etching of absorbing materials (such as silicon) is widely used in the fabrication of the micro-pyramid structure by combining with the NIL technique [15,21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Preparation of a Micro-Pyramid Structured Thin Film for Broadband Infrared Antireflection

Liu

Zhou

et al. 2018

Coatings

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A micro-pyramid structured thin film with a broad-band infrared antireflection property is designed and fabricated by using the single-point diamond turning (SPDT) technique and combined with nano-imprint lithography (NIL). A structure with dimensions of 10 µm pitch and 5 µm height is transferred from the copper mold to the silicon nitride optical film by using NIL and proportional inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) etching. Reflectance of the micro-optical surface is reduced below 1.0% over the infrared spectral range (800-2500 nm). A finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) analysis indicates that this micro-structure can localize photons and enhance the absorption inside the micro-pyramid at long wavelengths. As described above, the micro-pyramid array has been integrated in an optical film successfully. Distinguishing from the traditional micro-optical components, considering the effect of refraction and diffraction, it is a valuable and flexible method to take account of the interference effect of optical film.

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Efficient light trapping nanopyramid structures for solar cells patterned using UV nanoimprint lithography

Cited by 58 publications

References 28 publications

Precision Cutting of the Molds of an Optical Functional Texture Film with a Triangular Pyramid Texture

Precision Cutting of the Molds of an Optical Functional Texture Film with a Triangular Pyramid Texture

Nanopyramid Structures with Light Harvesting and Self- Cleaning Properties for Solar Cells

Design and Preparation of a Micro-Pyramid Structured Thin Film for Broadband Infrared Antireflection

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