Materials for Antireflection Coatings in Photovoltaics—An Overview

Mehta, Vishal; Conkel, Cory; Cochran, Andrew; Ravindra, Nuggehalli M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-92381-5_32

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The multilayer grating is made of three layers of, arranged from bottom to top, magnesium fluoride (MgF 2 , refractive index ≈ 1.38 @ λ = 560 nm)/silicon nitride (SiN 3 , refractive index ≈ 2 @ λ = 560 nm)/magnesium fluoride. These materials, MgF 2 and SiN 3 , are widely used in the optical designs of antireflection coatings and diffraction gratings [42]. These materials also provide a refractive index contrast with a low-index surrounding medium, which is air (n g ≃ 1) or a gas at atmospheric pressure, which has a refractive index value close to it.…”

Section: Solar Cell With Multilayer Gratingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical Sensing Using Hybrid Multilayer Grating Metasurfaces with Customized Spectral Response

Elshorbagy,

Cuadrado,

Alda

2024

Sensors

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Customized metasurfaces allow for controlling optical responses in photonic and optoelectronic devices over a broad band. For sensing applications, the spectral response of an optical device can be narrowed to a few nanometers, which enhances its capabilities to detect environmental changes that shift the spectral transmission or reflection. These nanophotonic elements are key for the new generation of plasmonic optical sensors with custom responses and custom modes of operation. In our design, the metallic top electrode of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin-film solar cell is combined with a metasurface fabricated as a hybrid dielectric multilayer grating. This arrangement generates a plasmonic resonance on top of the active layer of the cell, which enhances the optoelectronic response of the system over a very narrow spectral band. Then, the solar cell becomes a sensor with a response that is highly dependent on the optical properties of the medium on top of it. The maximum sensitivity and figure of merit (FOM) are SB = 36,707 (mA/W)/RIU and ≈167 RIU−1, respectively, for the 560 nm wavelength using TE polarization. The optical response and the high sensing performance of this device make it suitable for detecting very tiny changes in gas media. This is of great importance for monitoring air quality and thecomposition of gases in closed atmospheres.

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Section: Solar Cell With Multilayer Gratingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical Sensing Using Hybrid Multilayer Grating Metasurfaces with Customized Spectral Response

Elshorbagy,

Cuadrado,

Alda

2024

Sensors

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“…ARCs consist of dielectric thin films with specific thickness that exploit the interference effects of light [52,53]. However, a single-layer ARC can only provide nearly zero reflection at a single wavelength and incidence angle.…”

Section: Reduced Light Transmission Into Solar Cells and Photodiodesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To reduce reflection for solar cells and photodiodes, antireflection coatings (ARCs) [52][53][54] and surface texturing techniques [55][56][57][58][59][60][61] are designed. By carefully engineering the refractive index of the surface, the reflection can be minimized, allowing more light, particularly in the wavelength range of interest, to pass into the semiconductor material and be absorbed, resulting in higher device performance and new applications.…”

Section: Reduced Light Transmission Into Solar Cells and Photodiodesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the gap between surface physics and photonics

Laukkanen,

Punkkinen,

Kuzmin

et al. 2024

Rep. Prog. Phys.

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Use and performance criteria of photonic devices increase in various application areas such as information and communication, lighting, and photovoltaics. In many current and future photonic devices, surfaces of a semiconductor crystal are a weak part causing significant photo-electric losses and malfunctions in applications. These surface challenges, many of which arise from material defects at semiconductor surfaces, include signal attenuation in waveguides, light absorption in light emitting diodes, non-radiative recombination of carriers in solar cells, leakage (dark) current of photodiodes, and light reflection at solar cell interfaces for instance. To reduce harmful surface effects, the optical and electrical passivation of devices has been developed for several decades, especially with the methods of semiconductor technology. Because atomic scale control and knowledge of surface-related phenomena have become relevant to increase the performance of different devices, it might be useful to enhance the bridging of surface physics to photonics. Toward that target, we review some evolving research subjects with open questions and possible solutions, which hopefully provide example connecting points between photonic device passivation and surface physics. One question is related to the properties of the wet chemically cleaned semiconductor surfaces which are typically utilized in device manufacturing processes, but which appear to be different from crystalline surfaces studied in ultrahigh vacuum by physicists. In devices, a defective semiconductor surface often lies at an embedded interface formed by a thin metal or insulator film grown on the semiconductor crystal, which makes the measurements of its atomic and electronic structures difficult. To understand these interface properties, it is essential to combine quantum mechanical simulation methods. This review also covers metal-semiconductor interfaces which are included in most photonic devices to transmit electric carriers to the semiconductor structure. Low-resistive and passivated contacts with an ultrathin tunnelling barrier are an emergent solution to control electrical losses in photonic devices.

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“…The MLAR film can increase the transmission of the glass cover in a narrow spectral range due to its lower refractive index [8]. However, the solar cells need a lower reflectance over a wide spectral range from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared in applications [9,10]. Kang et al [11] prepared a TiO 2 MLAR film on an amorphous silicon/amorphous silicon-germanium tandem solar cell, increasing its PCE only by 0.25%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of magnetron sputtering power on the properties of the AlO _X monolayer and AlO _X /MgF₂ bilayer anti-reflection films

Song,

Zhao,

Zhao

et al. 2024

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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The AlO X monolayer anti-reflection (MLAR) films and the AlO X /MgF2 bilayer anti-reflection (BLAR) films were deposited on high-purity glasses with magnetron sputtering. We investigated the influences of sputtering power on the O/Al molar ratio, microstructure, and optical properties of the AlO X MLAR films and AlO X /MgF2 BLAR films. The results showed that a too high or a too low sputtering power was detrimental to the preparation of the high-quality films, which could only be obtained when the sputtering power was 115 W. However, the sputtering power did not affect the crystallinity of the films, all of which were amorphous. When the sputtering power was 115 W, the high-purity AlO X MLAR film exhibited an O/Al molar ratio of 2.27:1, a refractive index of 1.426, and an average transmittance (T avg: average transmittance of the quartz glass deposited the film, hereinafter the same) of 94.03% within 300–1100 nm wavelength range. The T avg of AlO X /MgF2 BLAR film with a power of 115 W was 94.99%, which was 1.92% higher than that of the glass substrate. And it improved the cell’s photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) by 3.19%.

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Materials for Antireflection Coatings in Photovoltaics—An Overview

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Optical Sensing Using Hybrid Multilayer Grating Metasurfaces with Customized Spectral Response

Optical Sensing Using Hybrid Multilayer Grating Metasurfaces with Customized Spectral Response

Bridging the gap between surface physics and photonics

Effect of magnetron sputtering power on the properties of the AlO _X monolayer and AlO _X /MgF₂ bilayer anti-reflection films

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Materials for Antireflection Coatings in Photovoltaics—An Overview

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Optical Sensing Using Hybrid Multilayer Grating Metasurfaces with Customized Spectral Response

Optical Sensing Using Hybrid Multilayer Grating Metasurfaces with Customized Spectral Response

Bridging the gap between surface physics and photonics

Effect of magnetron sputtering power on the properties of the AlO X monolayer and AlO X /MgF2 bilayer anti-reflection films

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Effect of magnetron sputtering power on the properties of the AlO _X monolayer and AlO _X /MgF₂ bilayer anti-reflection films