Current trend of the average laser power increase follows Moore's law. The average power of ultra-short lasers in 2000 was 1 W and now is 1 kW following trend of doubling per year: 2^(20years/2) = 1024. This trend can be harnessed for large area patterning. Here we show application of direct laser writing for processing of surface of solar cells.
Light trapping photonic crystal (PhC) patterns on the surface of Si solar cells provides a novel opportunity to approach the theoretical efficiency limit of 32.3% for light-to-electrical power conversion with a single junction cell. This is beyond the efficiency limit implied by the Lambertian limit of ray trapping ~29%. The interference and slow light effects are harnessed for collecting light even at the long wavelengths near the Si band-gap. We compare two different methods for surface patterning, that can be extended to large area surface patterning: 1) laser direct write and 2) step-&-repeat 5-times reduction projection lithography.
Photonic crystal patterns for light trapping in Si solar cells are developed via different process flows: 1) step-and-repeat projection lithography with lift-off or 2) laser ablation and subsequent etching dry or/and wet. Both methods are amenable for large area (2×2 cm2) fabrication and can be used to break the ray-optics light trapping limit. This is required to surpass the record high efficiency ∼ 26% of solar-to-electrical power conversion of Si solar cells and approach the theoretical limit of ∼ 30%. Also, standard electron beam lithography (EBL) was used to define Si3N4 or Cr masks for wet KOH etching on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and Si wafers. Direct laser writing of the etch mask by ablation (10 nJ, 515 nm, 230 fs pulses) has an advantage due to its scalability. The large area patterning is important for industrial application of direct laser writing of light trapping patterns in solar cells and absorbers/emitters for the IR spectral range.
Planck’s law predicts the distribution of radiation energy, color and intensity, emitted from a hot object at thermal equilibrium. The Law also sets the upper limit of radiation intensity, the blackbody limit. Recent experiments reveal that micro-structured tungsten can exhibit significant deviation from the blackbody spectrum. However, whether thermal radiation with weak non-equilibrium pumping can exceed the blackbody limit in the far field remains un-answered. Here, we use a tungsten photonic-crystal with a partially coated black surface to show that far-field thermal radiation can exceed the blackbody limit by > 8 times at 1.7 micrometer resonant wavelength. This finding is attributed to non-linear Bloch-waves and the excitation of dipole-active tungsten resonators throughout the photonic-crystal. This discovery could help create super-intense LED-like thermal light sources and even thermal emitters with laser-like input-output characteristics.
Today, one major obstacle for a broader impact and utilization of three-dimensional photonic-crystals (3D PC) is the lack of a scheme for low cost and large scale fabrication. In this work, we proposed a novel lithographic method to realize 3D PC that is inherently a low-cost and wafer-scale method. This method combines a 2D optical mask and off-axis double optical exposures to create 3D PCs having slanted rods and SP2 lattice symmetry. Three types of SP2 PC were successfully fabricated with a minimum feature size of d=1.5 micrometer over a large scale of 8x10 mm2, without any observable fabrication defects. The optical performances of the SP2 PCs were studied by FTIR reflectance measurements, indicating photonic band gap. Furthermore, this holographic method is ideal for creating a new class of slanted-rod based PC, such as topological PC in 3D, for new scientific discovery.
KEYWORDS: Reactive ion etching, Absorption, Silicon, Etching, Photonic crystals, Solar energy, Solar cells, Scanning electron microscopy, Ultraviolet radiation, Reflection
We show a unique design of teepee-like photonic crystal (TP-PC) structure that possesses a true gradient, Gaussian-type surface profile for smooth and accurate index matching between air and silicon for near-perfect light trapping. Such funnel-like, inverse-conical topography is capable of achieving near-zero optical reflection and near-unity solar absorption with excellent angular response over the entire visible light wavelength range. The fabrication only requires standard microelectronics reactive-ion etching (RIE) process. We demonstrate how various process parameters, such as RIE gas mixture ratio, RIE power, thickness of silicon dioxide (SiO2) coatings, and lattice constant of the photonic crystal, can impact the details of the “Gaussian” profile and further improve the optical performance of the TP-PC structure at broad-λ, broad-θ, especially in the ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range. Our finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation of the TP-PC structure reveals existence of multiple absorption resonances in the 800- to1100-nm wavelength range. Poynting vector plots show that such strong absorption enhancements at the resonant frequencies are due to long-lifetime photonic modes arising from parallel-to-interface refraction of the incoming sunlight and formation of vortex-like energy flow pattern inside the TP-PC structure. Our design will lead the way for future development of ultrathin, high-efficiency c-Si solar photovoltaics.
Photonic crystals are widely known for their light-trapping capabilities. This is often associated with the occurrence of a photonic band gap or other suppression in the electromagnetic density of states [1-3]. This enables guiding of light on an optical micro-chip and unprecedented forms of strong-coupling between light and matter. In the past, practical applications of these effects have focused on information technology. More recently, an important opportunity has emerged in the area of energy technology. This arises from lighttrapping in the higher bands of a photonic crystal, where the electromagnetic density of states is enhanced rather than suppressed [4]. This enables unprecedented strong absorption of sunlight in materials with weak intrinsic absorption [4-15]. We apply this to solar cells based in silicon [5-9, 11, 13, 14], GaAs [12], dye-sensitized TiO2 [10] and low-bandgap polymers [15].
We describe a design for a photonic crystal dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) that can attain at least a factor of one-third enhancement in solar light absorption relative to a conventional cell. The design consists of a periodic array of modulated-diameter TiO2 nanotubes filled with TiO2 nanoparticles and interstitial regions filled with electrolyte. Using nanotubes filled with nanoparticles provides not only light trapping and absorption enhancement, but offers improved electrical transport through the nanotube walls. Keeping the volume of dye-coated TiO2 nanoparticles in the cell constant, our design gives a maximum achievable photocurrent density (MAPD) of over 21mA/cm2 in 2D simulations, well beyond the current record for C101-based cells. The design is shown to be feasible using current manufacturing techniques.
We show that with only one micron, equivalent bulk thickness, of crystalline silicon, sculpted into the form of a slanted conical-pore photonic crystal and placed on a silver back-reflector, it is possible to attain a maximum achievable photocurrent density (MAPD) of 35.5mA/cm2 from impinging sunlight [1]. This corresponds to absorbing roughly 85% of sunlight in the wavelength range 300-1100nm and exceeds the Lambertian limit suggested by previous “statistical ray trapping” arguments. When the silicon volume is reduced to an equivalent thickness of only 380nm, the MAPD remains as high as 32mA/cm2. This suggests the possibility of very high efficiency, ultra-thin-film silicon solar cells. Our one-micron structure consists of a photonic crystal square lattice constant of 850nm and slightly overlapping inverted cones with upper (base) radius of 500nm and 1600nm cone depth. When the solar cell is packaged with silica (each pore filled with SiO2 and modulation on the top is added), the MAPD in the wavelength range of 400-1100nm becomes 32.6mA/cm2 still higher than the Lambertian 4n2 benchmark of 31.2mA/cm2. Thinner structures are considered by keeping the lattice constant and cone radius fixed but by decreasing the cone depth. The MAPD dependence on the overall depth of nanopores indicates that using roughly half the amount of silicon leads to only about 5% drop in the MAPD. In the near infrared regime light is absorbed within slow group velocity modes, that propagate nearly parallel to the interface and exhibit localized high intensity vortex-like flow in the Poynting vector-field.
Using Glancing Angle Deposition, a novel thin film deposition technique, it is possible to fabricate complex, periodic structures suited for applications in photonic band gap crystals. In comparison to complex lithography processes used to produce conventional structures on the scale of several nanometers, GLAD is ideally suited to a virtual single step deposition, producing a novel tetragonal square spiral crystal structure and having a large predicted band gap of up to 15%.
We describe all-optical transistor action in photonic band gap materials doped with active atoms. In the presence of a photonic band gap (PBG) material, a coherent laser beam with the frequency slightly detuned from the resonant atomic transition frequency can drive a collection of two-level atoms to an almost totally inverted state, a phenomenon strictly forbidden in ordinary vacuum. By changing the laser field intensity in the neighborhood of a threshold
value, it is possible to drive the atomic system through a transition from states in which the atoms populate preferentially the ground level to almost totally inverted states. In this process, the atomic system switches from a passive medium (highly absorptive) to a active
medium (highly amplifying). The switching action in a PBG material is not associated with operating near a narrow cavity resonance with conventional trade-off between switching time and switching threshold intensity. Rather it is associated with an abrupt discontinuity in the
engineered broad band electromagnetic density of states of the PBG material. We demonstrate all-optical transistor action in PBG materials by analyzing the absorption spectrum of a second
probe laser beam and we show that the probe beam experience a substantial differential gain by slight intensity modulations in the control laser field.
We present a formal, microscopic, solution of the wave propagation problem for an inhomogeneity embedded
in an isotropically disordered, multiple scattering, homogeneous background. The inhomogeneity is described by a local change in the complex, dielectric autocorrelation function B(r,r8) [v4/c4^e*(r)e(r8)&ensemble for a wave of frequency w and velocity c. For the homogeneous background, we consider a dielectric autocorrelation function Bh(r−r8) arising from a colloidal suspension of small dielectric spheres. This autocorrelation function can be determined using a newly developed technique called phase space tomography for optical phase retrieval. This technique measures the optical Wigner distribution function I(R,k) defined as the Fourier transform, with respect to r, of the electric field mutual coherence function ^E*(R+r/2)E(R −r/2)&ensemble. The Wigner distribution function is the wave analog of the specific light intensity, Ic(R,k ˆ ), in radiative transfer theory which describes the number of photons in the vicinity of R propagating in direction k ˆ. The Wigner function describes coherence properties of the electromagnetic field which can propagate much longer than the transport mean-free-path l* and which are not included in radiative transfer theory. Given the nature of the homogeneous background, repeated light intensity measurements, which determine the optical phase structure at different points along the tissue surface, may be used to determine the size, shape, and
internal structure of the inhomogeneity. In principle, this method improves the resolution of optical tomography to the scale of several optical wavelengths in contrast to methods based on diffusion approximation which have a resolution on the scale of several transport mean-free-paths.
We present a formal, microscopic, solution of the radiative transfer problem for an inhomogeneous background. The inhomogeneity is described by a local change in the complex, dielectric autocorrelation function. For the homogeneous background we consider a dielectric autocorrelation function arising from a colloidal suspension of small dielectric spheres. This autocorrelation function can be determined from measurement of the angle-resolved, specific light intensity for photons in the vicinity of R propagating in direction k. Given the nature of the homogeneous background, angle-resolved light intensity measurements may be used to determine the size, shape, and internal structure of the inhomogeneity. In principle, this method improves the resolution of optical tomography to the scale of several optical wavelengths in contrast to methods based on the diffusion approximation which have a resolution on the scale of several transport mean free paths. Angle-resolved, multiple scattering tomography may be useful for the characterization of near-surface tumors.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
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.