Scalable Production of Mechanically Robust Antireflection Film for Omnidirectional Enhanced Flexible Thin Film Solar Cells

Abstract

Antireflection (AR) at the interface between the air and incident window material is paramount to boost the performance of photovoltaic devices. 3D nanostructures have attracted tremendous interest to reduce reflection, while the structure is vulnerable to the harsh outdoor environment. Thus the AR film with improved mechanical property is desirable in an industrial application. Herein, a scalable production of flexible AR films is proposed with microsized structures by roll‐to‐roll imprinting process, which possesses hydrophobic property and much improved robustness. The AR films can be potentially used for a wide range of photovoltaic devices whether based on rigid or flexible substrates. As a demonstration, the AR films are integrated with commercial Si‐based triple‐junction thin film solar cells. The AR film works as an effective tool to control the light travel path and utilize the light inward more efficiently by exciting hybrid optical modes, which results in a broadband and omnidirectional enhanced performance.

A Novel Nanocone Cluster Microstructure with Anti-reflection and Superhydrophobic Properties for Photovoltaic Devices

“…The flat film shows hydrophobic property with a water CA of 105° because of the large bond energies of C–H [ 25 ]. Films with micro/nanostructures would improve the hydrophobic characteristics with larger CAs compared with the flat one [ 5 ]. It is easier to see that the contact angle increases first and then decreases with nanocone aspect ratio increases, and films with aspect ratio 2 nanocones showing a contact angle up to 151°, which satisfies the critical condition of superhydrophobicity (Fig.…”

“…From the above calculation, we can learn that the water droplets are mainly in contact with air in the solid-liquid interface, which is why the nanocone cluster microstructure we prepared has excellent hydrophobic performance. The improved hydrophobicity also enhanced the self-cleaning effect and water-repellent property significantly, which decreases the cleaning cost of the device greatly and makes it a good candidate in photovoltaic device applications [ 4 , 5 , 28 ].…”

“…But low light absorption coefficient and low efficiency of the device restrict its development greatly. Anti-reflection (AR) film [ 2 , 3 ], which utilizes light management strategies to reduce reflection within a relatively thin layer of active materials, is considered an effective way for the photovoltaic devices [ 4 , 5 ]. AR properties can be achieved by introducing micro/nanostructures on flat films [ 4 ].…”

Large-Scale Bio-Inspired Flexible Antireflective Film with Scale-Insensitivity Arrays

“…Antireflection (AR) surfaces are widely used in the fields of optical imaging, photovoltaics, − sensors, and flexible OLED devices . Since creatures could reveal the wisdom of natural evolution, they provide innovative inspiration for the design of AR films.…”

Natural Antireflective Microstructure of Blue Mussel Shells and Biomimetic Replication

“…Many antireflection microstructures have been intensively investigated because of their excellent antireflection effects, as well as superior mechanical properties and lower cost compared with some nanostructures, such as micropyramidal, , inverted pyramidal, microlenses-like, and quasi-honeycomb-like structures . Among these, the micropyramidal structure has attracted particular interest because it can enhance the solar cell efficiency by reducing reflection losses. , …”