Nanoimprinted sol-gel materials for antireflective structures on silicon solar cells

L. Stevens; H. Hauser; O. Höhn; N. Tucher; C. Wellens; R. Jahn; W. Glaubitt; C. Müller; B. Bläsi

doi:10.1117/12.2309935

22 May 2018 Nanoimprinted sol-gel materials for antireflective structures on silicon solar cells

L. Stevens, H. Hauser, O. Höhn, N. Tucher, C. Wellens, R. Jahn, W. Glaubitt, C. Müller, B. Bläsi

Proceedings Volume 10688, Photonics for Solar Energy Systems VII; 106880B (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2309935
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2018, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Silicon solar cells are typically textured by means of wet chemical etching in order to enhance absorption. Within this work, we apply an optically functional layer onto a planar silicon surface. This layer is made of a high refractive index sol-gel material and can be patterned by nanoimprint lithography (NIL). In first experiments, we investigated various sol-gel based TiO₂ precursors and evaluated their refractive index as well as the possibility to apply them in NIL. The refractive index was determined to be up to 2.25 using ellipsometry. This result was achieved with a solution composed of amorphous TiO₂ precursors mixed with ethanol and 1,5-pentanediol. The topography of the patterned TiO₂ layers were investigated using an atomic force microscope (AFM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealing a period of 1 μm and a pattern depth of 60 nm after sintering. Furthermore, optical modeling was used to optimize the structure parameters in order to minimize the weighted reflectance of an encapsulated silicon solar cell.

Citation Download Citation

L. Stevens, H. Hauser, O. Höhn, N. Tucher, C. Wellens, R. Jahn, W. Glaubitt, C. Müller, and B. Bläsi "Nanoimprinted sol-gel materials for antireflective structures on silicon solar cells", Proc. SPIE 10688, Photonics for Solar Energy Systems VII, 106880B (22 May 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2309935

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available