Periodic upright nanopyramid fabricated by ultraviolet curable nanoimprint lithography for thin film solar cells

Amalathas, Amalraj Peter; Alkaisi, Maan M.

doi:10.1504/ijnt.2017.082435

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…A variety of nanophotonic structures, such as nanocones [51,52,53,54], nanorods [55,56,57], nanopillars [58,59,60], nanowells [61,62,63], nanopyramids [64,65,66,67,68,69,70], and nanospheres [71,72], have been extensively studied for enhancing the performance of the solar cells. The photonic nanostructures themselves can be dielectric, metallic, or the absorber layer itself [71,73,74].…”

Section: Photonic Nanostructuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanostructures for Light Trapping in Thin Film Solar Cells

2019

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Thin film solar cells are one of the important candidates utilized to reduce the cost of photovoltaic production by minimizing the usage of active materials. However, low light absorption due to low absorption coefficient and/or insufficient active layer thickness can limit the performance of thin film solar cells. Increasing the absorption of light that can be converted into electrical current in thin film solar cells is crucial for enhancing the overall efficiency and in reducing the cost. Therefore, light trapping strategies play a significant role in achieving this goal. The main objectives of light trapping techniques are to decrease incident light reflection, increase the light absorption, and modify the optical response of the device for use in different applications. Nanostructures utilize key sets of approaches to achieve these objectives, including gradual refractive index matching, and coupling incident light into guided modes and localized plasmon resonances, as well as surface plasmon polariton modes. In this review, we discuss some of the recent developments in the design and implementation of nanostructures for light trapping in solar cells. These include the development of solar cells containing photonic and plasmonic nanostructures. The distinct benefits and challenges of these schemes are also explained and discussed.

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Section: Photonic Nanostructuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanostructures for Light Trapping in Thin Film Solar Cells

2019

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“…Details of the fabrication process of the master mold are described in Ref. [9]. A UV curable resist (OrmoStamp) was spincoated onto a glass substrate and afterward the substrate was placed over the Si mold with the inverted nanopyramids inside the imprint tool.…”

Section: Upright Nanopyramid Structured Cover Glass For Solar Cells 2mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Details on the fabrication process of the master mold are described in Ref. [9]. The upright nanopyramid patterns were successfully replicated from the Si mold onto the glass substrate using UV nanoimprint process resulting in high fidelity as described in Section 2.1.…”

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%

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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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“…In the last few decades, nanostructure applications have attracted increasing interest in many fields ranging from nanoscale electronics to bionanotechnologies [1][2][3][4]. Nanostructures can be fabricated by several techniques including electron beam lithography (EBL) [5], laser interference lithography (LIL) [6], focused ion beam lithography (FIB) [7], nanosphere lithography (NSL) [8], block copolymer lithography (BCPL) [9], and nanoimprint lithography (NIL) [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication and Replication of Periodic Nanopyramid Structures by Laser Interference Lithography and UV Nanoimprint Lithography for Solar Cells Applications

Amalathas¹,

Alkaisi²

2018

Micro/Nanolithography - A Heuristic Aspect on the Enduring Technology

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In this chapter, the fabrication and replication of periodic nanopyramid structures suitable for antireflection and self-cleaning surfaces are presented. Laser interference lithography (LIL), dry etching, wet etching, and UV nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) are employed for the fabrication and replication of periodic nanopyramid structures. Inverted nanopyramid structures were fabricated on Si substrates by LIL and subsequent pattern transfer process using reactive ion etching, followed by potassium hydroxide (KOH) wet etching. The fabricated periodic inverted nanopyramid structures were utilized as a master mold for the nanoimprint process. The upright nanopyramid structures were patterned on the OrmoStamp-coated glass substrate with high fidelity in the first nanoimprint process. In the second nanoimprint process, inverted nanopyramid structures were replicated on the OrmoStamp-coated substrate using the fabricated upright nanopyramid glass substrate as a mold. The replicated inverted nanopyramid structure on resist-coated substrate was faithfully resolved with the high accuracy compared to original Si master mold down to nanometer scale. Both upright and inverted nanopyramid structures can be utilized as surface coatings for light trapping and self-cleaning applications for different types of solar cell and glass surfaces.

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Periodic upright nanopyramid fabricated by ultraviolet curable nanoimprint lithography for thin film solar cells

Cited by 9 publications

References 33 publications

Nanostructures for Light Trapping in Thin Film Solar Cells

Nanostructures for Light Trapping in Thin Film Solar Cells

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

Fabrication and Replication of Periodic Nanopyramid Structures by Laser Interference Lithography and UV Nanoimprint Lithography for Solar Cells Applications

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