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Light trapping in solar cells using resonant nanostructures
Spinelli, P.
Publication date
2013
Link to publication
Citation for published version (APA):
Spinelli, P. (2013). Light trapping in solar cells using resonant nanostructures.
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Contents
1 Introduction 9
1.1 Photovoltaics 9
1.2 Silicon solar cells 11
1.3 Resonant nanostructures for light management 15
1.4 Thesis outline 17
2 Nanofabrication techniques 19
2.1 Introduction 19
2.2 SCIL for fabrication of dielectric nanoparticles 20
2.3 Si reactive ion etching 22
2.4 Conclusion 25
3 Controlling Fano lineshapes in plasmonic light coupling into a substrate 27
3.1 Introduction 27
3.2 Shape and environment effect on plasmonic resonance 28
3.3 Effect on light incoupling into a substrate 33
3.4 Example: plasmon-enhanced light coupling into c-Si solar cells 33
3.5 Conclusion 36
4 Light coupling into silicon substrates using coupled plasmonic
nanopar-ticle arrays 37
4.1 Introduction 37
4.2 Light scattering from single particles: FDTD simulations 39 4.3 Light scattering from particle arrays: FDTD simulation 40 4.4 Light scattering from particle arrays: experiment 43
4.5 Conclusion 47
Contents
5 Prospects of near-field plasmonic absorption enhancement in semicon-ductor materials using embedded Ag nanoparticles 49
5.1 Introduction 49
5.2 Simulation results 51
5.3 Discussion and conclusion 62
6 Broadband omnidirectional antireflection coating based on subwave-length surface Mie resonators 63
6.1 Introduction 63
6.2 Mie scattering on a Si substrate 64
6.3 Black silicon 68
6.4 Angle resolved reflectivity 69
6.5 Random and periodic arrays of Si Mie scatterers 71
6.6 Conclusion 72
7 Modeling of light trapping in thin crystalline Si solar cells using surface
Mie scatterers 77
7.1 Introduction 77
7.2 Simulation results 78
7.3 Solar cell modeling 80
7.4 Light trapping with TiO2Mie scatterers 85
7.5 Light trapping with random and periodic arrays of Mie scatterers 86
7.6 Conclusion 88
8 Experimental demonstration of light trapping beyond the 4n2limit in thin Si slabs using resonant surface Si Mie scatterers 89
8.1 Introduction 89
8.2 Experimental results 90
8.3 Conclusion 94
9 Al2O3/TiO2nano-pattern antireflection coating with ultralow surface
recombination 95
9.1 Introduction 95
9.2 Experimental results 97
9.3 Conclusion 101
10 Applications of resonant nanostructures to solar cells 103
10.1 Introduction 103
10.2 Crystalline Si solar cells 104
10.3 High-efficiency GaAs solar cells 107
10.4 Organic solar cells 109
10.5 Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulation 111
10.6 Application of resonant nanostructures to solar cells: summary 115 10.7 Beyond solar cells: a nano-coating for glass 117
Contents References 121 Summary 131 Samenvatting 133 Riassunto 137 List of publications 141 Acknowledgements 143
About the author 145
