Performance of 'Moth Eye' Anti-Reflective Coatings for Solar Cell Applications

摘要

An inexpensive, effective anti-reflective coating (ARC) has been developed at the University of Florida to significantly enhance the absorption of light by silicon in solar cells. This coating has nano-scale features, and its microstructure mimics that of various night active insects (e.g. a moth's eye). It is a square array of pillars, each about 700 nm high and having a diameter of about 300 nm. Samples of silicon having this coating were exposed either to various combinations of either elevated temperature and humidity or to gamma irradiation ((sup 60)Co) at the Savannah River National Laboratory, or to a broad spectrum ultraviolet light and to a 532 nm laser light at the University of Florida. The anti-reflective properties of the coatings were unaffected by any of these environmental stresses, and the microstructure of the coating was also unaffected. In fact, the reflectivity of the gamma irradiated ARC became lower (advantageous for solar cell applications) at wavelengths between 400 and 1000 nm. These results show that this coating is robust and should be tested in actual systems exposed to either weather or a space environment. Structural details of the ARCs were studied to optimize their performance. Square arrays performed better than hexagonal arrays - the natural moth-eye coating is indeed a square array. The optimal depth of the templated nanopillars in the ARC was investigated. A wet etching technology for ARC formation was developed that would be less expensive and much faster than dry etching. Theoretical modeling revealed that dimple arrays should perform better than nipple arrays. A method of fabricating both dimple and nipple arrays having the same length was developed, and the dimple arrays performed better than the nipple arrays, in agreement with the modeling. The commercial viability of the technology is quite feasible, since the technology is scalable and inexpensive. This technology is also compatible with current industrial fabrication of solar cells.