Optimization and Modeling of Antireflective Layers for Silicon Solar Cells: In Search of Optimal Materials

Depositing an antireflection coating on the front surface of solar cells allows a significant reduction in reflection losses. It thus allows an increase in the efficiency of the cells. A modeling of the refractive indices and the thicknesses of an optimal antireflection coating has been proposed. Thus, the average reflective losses can be reduced to less than 8% and less than 2.4% in a large wavelength range respectively for a single-layer and double-layer anti-reflective coating types. However, the difficulty of finding these model materials (materials with the same refractive index) led us to introduce two notions: the refractive index difference and the thickness difference. These two notions allowed us to compare the reflectivity of the antireflection layer in silicon surface. Thus, the lower the refractive index difference is, the more the material resembles to the ideal material (in refractive index), and thus its reflective losses are minimal. SiNx and SiO2/TiO2 antireflection layers, in the wavelength range between 400 and 1100 nm, have reduced the average reflectivity losses to less than 9% and 2.3% respectively.

Pyramid-Textured Antireflective Silicon Surface In Graphene Oxide/Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube–Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Antireflection layers are commonly used in photovoltaics to increase light absorption and therefore increase maximum photocurrent.Here,pyramid structures are created on Si surfaces with alkaline solution etching.The extent of pyramid coverage depends directly on the reaction time and as a result,the surface reflectance decreases with reaction time.

A TiO_(2)nanotubes film with excellent antireflective and near-perfect self-cleaning performances

SiO_(2)/TiO_(2)composite films have been frequently used to realize the functions of self-cleaning and antireflection.Increasing the TiO_(2)volume ratio in SiO_(2)/TiO_(2)composite film is beneficial to enhance the self-cleaning effect,while high TiO_(2)content leads to a strong Rayleigh scattering and depresses the antireflective performance,resulting in a bottleneck problem for the dual-functional application.Here,we have achieved a high-quality TiO_(2)nanotubes film with excellent antireflective and near-perfect selfcleaning performances.Ultrasound assisted pickling method has been developed to effectively prepare the well-dispersed protonated titanate nanotubes colloid.After spin-coating and annealing treatment,glass substrate coated with double-side TiO_(2)nanotubes film has a peak transmittance of 99.2%and average transmittance of 97.4%at 400-800 nm.Ultra-high porosity of TiO_(2)nanotubes film(80%)and ultra-fine size of TiO_(2)nanotubes(8.6 nm in outer diameter)lead to excellent antireflective performance.With high UV absorptivity(80%at 254 nm)and formal quantum efficiency of stearic acid(10.9×10^(-3)),TiO_(2)nanotubes film shows near-perfect self-cleaning performance.A persistent anti-fogging ability is also presented.This study demonstrates the feasibility to fabricate pure TiO_(2)antireflective coating for glass substrate,extends application field of the classic TiO_(2)nanotubes,and sheds lights on the practical applications of high-powered TiO_(2)nanotube-based multi-functional films.

Preparation of ultra-broadband antireflective coatings for amplifier blast shields by a sol–gel method

A type of λ/4–λ/4 ultra-broadband antireflective coating has been developed using modified low refractive silica and high refractive silica layers by a sol–gel dip coating method for amplifier blast shields of the Shen Guang Ⅱ high power laser facility(SG-Ⅱ facility). Deposition of the first layer(high refractive index silica) involves baking at 200℃ in the post-treatment step. The second layer(low refractive index, n = 1.20) uses low refractive index silica sol modified by acid catalysis. Thermal baking at temperatures no less than 500℃ for 60 min offers chemical stability, ethanol scratch resistance, and resistance to washing with water. The average residual reflection of dual-side-coated fused silica glass was less than 1% in the spectral range from 450 to 950 nm. Transmission gain has been evaluated by taking into account angular light, and the results show that the transmission gain increases with increasing light incidence. Even at 60°, the transmission spectrum of the broadband antireflective coating effectively covered the main absorption peak of Nd:glass.

Facile and robust strategy to antireflective photo-curing coating through self-wrinkling

We reported a facile and bio-inspired strategy for obtaining antireflective （AR） coating through polymerization-induced self-wrinkling. Upon irradiation of light, the complex wrinkle micro-patterns with different morphologies were generated spontaneously on the surface of coating during photo-cross- linking, which enables the photo-curing coating can decrease reflection. The resulting photo-curing coating exhibits a high transmittance over 90% and low reflection below 5% ～ 8%, with an efficiency anti- reflection of 4% ～ 7%; compared to the flat blank coating. The successful application of these AR coatings with wrinkles pattern to encapsulate the thin film solar cells results in appreciable photovoltaic performance improvement of more than 4% ～ 8%, which benefits from the decrease of the light reflection and increase of optical paths in the photoactive layer by the introduction of wrinkling pattern. Furthermore, the efficiency improvements of the solar cells are more obvious, with a remarkable increase of 8.5%, at oblique light incident angle than that with vertical light incident angle

A moisture-resistant antireflective coating by sol-gel process for neodymium-doped phosphate laser glass

Using methyl triethoxysilicane as precursor, a moisture-resistant coating for neodymium-doped laser glass was developed by the sol-gel process. Colloidal silica was added in coating solution as modifier. The refractive index of this coating varied from 1.31 to 1.42. A porous antireflective （AR） silica coating with the index of 1.27 was coated on the moisture-resistant coating surface. The two-layer coating possessed transmission up to 99.1% at wavelength of 966 nm, surface root-mean-square （RMS） roughaess of 1.245 am, and roughness of average （RA） of 0.961 am. In the case of laser of 1053-nm laser waveleilgth and 1-ns pulse duration, the damage threshold of the two-layer coatings was more than 15 J/cm^2.

Sol-gel preparation of a silica antireflective coating with enhanced hydrophobicity and optical stability in vacuum

A new silica antireflective coating with improved hydrophobicity and optical stability in a vacuum is obtained by a two-step route. Firstly, silica sols are prepared with a sol-gel process, in which tetraethyl orthosilicate is utilized as a precursor. And by introduction of fluorine containing glycol into the sols, the porosity of silica particles and surface polarity of the coatings are decreased. Afterward, coatings are constructed with low surface roughness by modification of PMBA-PMMA. The coatings retain transmission of up to 99.6%, and laser damage threshold of about 50 J/cm^2 at a wavelenth of 532 nm （1-on-1. 10 ns）

Theoretical analysis and engineering application of controllable shock wave technology for enhancing coalbed methane in soft and low‑permeability coal seams

Coalbed methane(CBM)is a significant factor in triggering coal and gas outburst disaster,while also serving as a clean fuel.With the increasing depth of mining operations,coal seams that exhibit high levels of gas content and low permeability have become increasingly prevalent.While controllable shockwave(CSW)technology has proven effective in enhancing CBM in laboratory settings,there is a lack of reports on its field applications in soft and low-permeability coal seams.This study establishes the governing equations for stress waves induced by CSW.Laplace numerical inversion was employed to analyse the dynamic response of the coal seam during CSW antireflection.Additionally,quantitative calculations were performed for the crushed zone,fracture zone,and effective CSW influence range,which guided the selection of field test parameters.The results of the field test unveiled a substantial improvement in the gas permeability coefficient,the average rate of pure methane flowrate,and the mean gas flowrate within a 10 m radius of the antireflection borehole.These enhancements were notable,showing increases of 3 times,13.72 times,and 11.48 times,respectively.Furthermore,the field test performed on the CSW antireflection gas extraction hole cluster demonstrated a noticeable improvement in CBM extraction.After antireflection,the maximum peak gas concentration and maximum peak pure methane flow reached 71.2%and 2.59 m^(3)/min,respectively.These findings will offer valuable guidance for the application of CSW antireflection technology in soft and low-permeability coal seams.

An ORMOSIL porous double-layer broadband antireflective coating

A λ∕4–λ∕4 broadband antireflective(AR) coating is developed with a sol-gel dip-coating method. By adding SAR-5 organosilicon resin into a base-catalyzed silica sol top layer and treating at 300°C, a broadband AR coating used for blast shields with a high average transmission of 99.34%(450–950 nm) and good hydrophobicity(with a water-contact angle of 119°) was obtained. After being subjected to rubbing 50 times and being maintained at a relative humidity of around 95% for 50 days, the average transmission of the coating decreased by0.29% and 0.04%, respectively. This indicates that the organically modified silica(ORMOSIL) broadband AR coating has good abrasion resistance and humidity stability.

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets incorporated antireflective silica coating with enhanced laser-induced damage threshold

Boron nitride(BN) nanosheets incorporated silica antireflective(AR) coating was successfully prepared on fused silica substrate to improve the antilaser-damage ability of transmissive optics used in high-power laser systems. The BN nanosheets were obtained by urea assisted solid exfoliation, and then incorporated into basic-catalyzed silica sols without any further treatment. The transmission electron microscope(TEM) images indicated that the BN nanosheets generally consisted of 2–10 layers. The antireflective BN/SiO_2 coating exhibited excellent transmittance as high as 99.89% at351 nm wavelength on fused silica substrate. The thermal conductivity 0.135 W · m^(-1)· K^(-1) of the BN/SiO_2 coating with 10% BN addition was about 23% higher than 0.11 W · m^(-1)· K^(-1) of the pure SiO_2 AR coating. The laser-induced damage threshold(LIDT) of that BN/SiO_2 coating is also 23.1% higher than that of pure SiO_2 AR coating. This research provides a potential application of BN/SiO_2 coatings in high-power laser systems.

Effect of Hydrophobic Modification on the Durability and Environmental Properties of Porous MgF_2 Antireflective Films

Conventional porous MgF2 antireflective films show poor environmental durability due to its hydrophilic nature.To improve the film environmental durability,hydrophobic porous MgF2 antireflective films are prepared by a methyl silicone-modified MgF2 sol.Effects of the methyl silicone proportions on the film properties are examined in order to control the wettability,peak transmittance,and environmental durability of the films.The modification of methyl silicone can increase the film hydrophobicity,thus decreases the adsorption of water,and improves the environmental durability.However,large amounts of methyl silicone could increase the film refractive index,resulting in the decrease in peak transmittance for films on BK7 glass.Films with 40% silicone show water contact angle of 110°,peak transmittance of 98.7%,and good environmental durability.The results of accelerated test show that the environmental durability of the porous MgF2 films modified with 40% methyl silicone is six times higher than that of the conventional films.

Broadband Antireflective Superhydrophilic Thin Films with Outstanding Mechanical Stability on Glass Substrates

A facile approach was developed to fabricate visible/near-infrared antireflective(AR),superhydrophilic and anti-fogging thin films on glass substrates.Glass substrate was first etched by H_(2)SiF_(6)-based vapor and then dip-coated sequentially in a base-catalyzed 20 nm SiO_(2)nanoparticles sol and an acid-catalyzed SiO_(2)sol.After an-nealing,the prepared thin film(named E/BSiO_(2)/ASiO_(2))not only showed good optical and wetting properties,but also exhibited excellent mechanical properties.The thin film has enhanced transmittance in the spectral range of UV to near-infrared.The maximum transmittance of E/BSiO_(2)/ASiO_(2)thin film coated glass substrate is 98.4%in 400-1200 nm and 96.1%in 1200-2500 nm,respectively.Comparing with blank glass substrate,the average transmittance increases by 5%in the wavelength range of 300-2500 nm.Meanwhile,the film showed good anti-fogging performance.SEM and AFM were employed to characterize the morphology of the thin film.The pre-pared thin film has potential application in various areas,like solar cells,windowpanes and eyeglasses,and may also find applications in membrane-based separation,selective catalysis and sensors.

Layer-by-Layer Approach to Superhydrophobic Zeolite Antireflective Coatings

Antireflection surfaces and coatings have attracted considerable interests because they can maximize light transmittance of the substrates. In this work, zeolite antireflective （ZAR） coatings are prepared via layer-by-layer （LBL） assembly of MFI-type zeolite silicalite-1 and polyelectrolyte. A micro- and macroporous hierarchical structure was obtained which contributes to the antireflective property of the zeolite coatings. The light transmittance of the coating on quartz can achieve as high as 99.3% at 650 nm. Furthermore, a superh~/drophobic ZAR coating can be obtained by chemical modification with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-triethoxysilane. This work demonstrates that zeolites are excellent candidates as high transparent superhydrophobic coatings.

Post-treatment of 351 nm SiO_(2) antireflective coatings for high power laser systems prepared by the sol-gel method

Different post-treatment processes involving the use of ammonia and hexamethyldisilazane(HMDS) were explored for application to 351 nm third harmonic generation SiO_(2)antireflective(3ω SiO_(2)AR) coatings for high power laser systems prepared by the sol-gel method.According to experimental analysis,the 3ω SiO_(2)AR coatings that were successively post-treated with ammonia and HMDS at 150℃ for 48 h and again heat-treated at 180℃ for 2 h(N/H 150+180 AR) were relatively better.There were relatively fewer changes in the optical properties of the N/H 150+180 AR coating under a humid and polluted environment,and the increase in defect density was slow in high humidity environments.The laser-induced damage threshold of the N/H 150+180 AR coating reached 15.83 J/cm;(355 nm,6.8 ns),a value that meets the basic requirements of high power laser systems.

Modified porous silica antireflective coatings with laser damage resistance for Ti:sapphire

Porous SiO2 antireflective (AR) coatings are prepared from the colloidal silica solution modified with methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) based on the sol-gel route. The viscosity of modified silica suspensions changes but their stability keeps when MTES is introduced. The refractive indices of modified coatings vary little after bake treatment from 100 to 150℃. The modified silica coatings on Ti:sapphire crystal, owning good homogeneity, display prominent antireflective effect within the laser output waveband (750-850 nm) of Ti:sapphire lasers, with average transmission above 98.6%, and own laser induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) of more than 2.2 J/cm2 at 800 nm with the pulse duration of 300 ps.

Mechanically robust antireflective coatings

Mechanical strength is an essential parameter that influences and limits the lifetime performance of antireflective （AR） coatings in optical devices. Speciflcally, amphiphobic AR coatings with reduced reflectance are of great significance as they considerably enlarge the range of fundamental applications. Herein, we describe the design and fabrication of amphiphobic AR coatings with reduced reflectance and enhanced mechanical resilience. Introducing a thin polytetrafluoroethylene （PTFE） layer on top of the bilayer SiOz coating via vapor deposition method makes it highly liquid repellent. We achieved reduced reflectance （〈 1%） over the entire visible wavelength range, as well as tunability according to the desired wavelength region. The fabricated film showed better thermal stability （up to 300℃） with stable AR efficiency, when an ultrathin dense coat of Al2O3 was deposited via atomic layer deposition （ALD） on the polymer-based bilayer SiO2 antireflective coating （P-BSAR）. The experimental results prove that the omnidirectional AR coating in this study exhibits multifunctional properties and should be suitable for the production of protective optical equipment and biocompatible polymer films for the displays of portable electronic devices.

Irregular LIPSS produced on metals by single linearly polarized femtosecond laser

Currently,supra-wavelength periodic surface structures(SWPSS)are only achievable on silica dielectrics and silicon by femtosecond(fs)laser ablation,while triangular and rhombic laser induced periodic surface structures(LIPSS)are achievable by circularly polarized or linear cross-polarized femtosecond laser.This is the first work to demonstrate the possibility of generating SWPSS on Sn and triangular and rhombic LIPSS on W,Mo,Ta,and Nb using a single linearly polarized femtosecond laser.We discovered,for the first time,SWPSS patches with each possessing its own orientation,which are completely independent of the light polarization direction,thus,breaking the traditional rules.Increasing the laser power enlarges SWPSS periods from 4–6μm to 15–25μm.We report a maximal period of 25μm,which is the largest period ever reported for SWPSS,~10 and~4 times the maximal periods(2.4μm/6.5μm)of SWPSS ever achieved by fs and ns laser ablation,respectively.The formation of triangular and rhombic LIPSS does not depend on the laser(power)or processing(scan interval and scan methodology)parameters but strongly depends on the material composition and is unachievable on other metals,such as Sn,Al,Ti,Zn,and Zr.This paper proposes and discusses possible mechanisms for molten droplet generation/spread/solidification,Marangoni convection flow for SWPSS formation,and linear-to-circular polarization transition for triangular and rhombic LIPSS formation.Reflectance and iridescence of as-prepared SWPSS and LIPSS are characterized.It was found that besides insufficient ablation on W,the iridescence density of Ta-,Mo-,Nb-LIPSS follows the sequence of melting temperatures:Ta>Mo>Nb,which indicates that the melting temperature of metals may affect the regularity of LIPSS.This work may inspire significant interest in further enriching the diversity of LIPSS and SWPSS.

Optimization of broadband omnidirectional antireflection coatings for solar cells

Broadband and omnidirectional antireflection coating is generally an effective way to improve solar cell efficiency, because the destructive interference between the reflected and incident light can maximize the light transmission into the absorption layer. In this paper, we report the incident quantum efficiency ηin, not incident energy or power, as the evaluation function by the ant colony algorithm optimization method, which is a swarm-based optimization method. Also, SPCTRL2 is proposed to be incorporated for accurate optimization because the solar irradiance on a receiver plane is dependent on position, season, and time. Cities of Quito, Beijing and Moscow are selected for two-and three-layer antireflective coating optimization over λ = [300,1100] nm and θ = [0°, 90°]. The ηin increases by 0.26%, 1.37% and 4.24% for the above 3 cities, respectively, compared with that calculated by other rigorous optimization algorithms methods, which is further verified by the effect of position and time dependent solar spectrum on the antireflective coating design.

Fabrication and Optical Properties of Silicon Nanowires Arrays by Electroless Ag-catalyzed Etching

In order to realize ultralow surface reflectance and broadband antireflection effects which common pyramidal textures and antireflection coatings can't achieve in photovoltaic industry,we used low-cost and easy-made Ag-catalyzed etching techniques to synthesize silicon nanowires(Si NWs) arrays on the substrate of single-crystalline silicon.The dense vertically-aligned Si NWs arrays are fabricated by local oxidation and selective dissolution of Si in etching solution containing Ag catalyst.The Si NWs arrays with 3 μm in depth make reflectance reduce to less than 3% in the range of 400 to 1000 nm while reflectance gradually reached the optimum value with the increasing of etching time.The antireflection of Si NWs arrays are based on indexgraded mechanism:Si NWs arrays on a subwavelength scale strongly scatter incident light and have graded refractive index that enhance the incidence of light in usable wavelength range.However,surface recombination of Si NWs arrays are deteriorated due to numerous dangling bonds and residual Ag particles.

Large-scale, adhesive-free and omnidirectional 3D nanocone anti-reflection films for high performance photovoltaics

An effective and low-cost front-side anti-reflection(AR) technique has long been sought to enhance the performance of highly efficient photovoltaic devices due to its capability of maximizing the light absorption in photovoltaic devices. In order to achieve high throughput fabrication of nanostructured flexible and anti-reflection films, large-scale, nano-engineered wafer molds were fabricated in this work. Additionally, to gain in-depth understanding of the optical and electrical performance enhancement with AR films on polycrystalline Si solar cells, both theoretical and experimental studies were performed. Intriguingly,the nanocone structures demonstrated an efficient light trapping effect which reduced the surface reflection of a solar cell by17.7% and therefore enhanced the overall electric output power of photovoltaic devices by 6% at normal light incidence. Notably, the output power improvement is even more significant at a larger light incident angle which is practically meaningful for daily operation of solar panels. The application of the developed AR films is not only limited to crystalline Si solar cells explored here, but also compatible with any types of photovoltaic technology for performance enhancement.