Nanoimprint lithography for high-efficiency thin-film silicon solar cells

Nano Lett. 2011 Feb 9;11(2):661-5. doi: 10.1021/nl1037787. Epub 2010 Dec 28.

Abstract

We demonstrate high-efficiency thin-film silicon solar cells with transparent nanotextured front electrodes fabricated via ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography on glass substrates. By replicating the morphology of state-of-the-art nanotextured zinc oxide front electrodes known for their exceptional light trapping properties, conversion efficiencies of up to 12.0% are achieved for micromorph tandem junction cells. Excellent light incoupling results in a remarkable summed short-circuit current density of 25.9 mA/cm(2) for amorphous top cell and microcrystalline bottom cell thicknesses of only 250 and 1100 nm, respectively. As efforts to maximize light harvesting continue, our study validates nanoimprinting as a versatile tool to investigate nanophotonic effects of a large variety of nanostructures directly on device performance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Crystallization / methods
  • Electric Power Supplies*
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Membranes, Artificial*
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure*
  • Nanotechnology / instrumentation*
  • Particle Size
  • Solar Energy*

Substances

  • Membranes, Artificial