A viable transfer printing-based methodology to introduce plasmonic metal nanostructures in solar cells is described. Using nanopillar poly(dimethylsiloxane) stamps, an Ag-based ordered nanodisk array was integrated with standard hydrogenated microcrystalline Si solar cells, which led to improved device performances due to plasmonic light trapping.
One of the potential applications of metal nanostructures is light trapping in solar cells, where unique optical properties of nanosized metals, commonly known as plasmonic effects, play an important role. Research in this field has, however, been impeded owing to the difficulty of fabricating devices containing the desired functional metal nanostructures. In order to provide a viable strategy to this issue, we herein show a transfer printing-based approach that allows the quick and low-cost integration of designed metal nanostructures with a variety of device architectures, including solar cells. Nanopillar poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamps were fabricated from a commercially available nanohole plastic film as a master mold. On this nanopatterned PDMS stamps, Ag films were deposited, which were then transfer-printed onto block copolymer (binding layer)-coated hydrogenated microcrystalline Si (µc-Si:H) surface to afford ordered Ag nanodisk structures. It was confirmed that the resulting Ag nanodisk-incorporated µc-Si:H solar cells show higher performances compared to a cell without the transfer-printed Ag nanodisks, thanks to plasmonic light trapping effect derived from the Ag nanodisks. Because of the simplicity and versatility, further device application would also be feasible thorough this approach.
出现了对功能性纳米结构在广泛的技术领域中的应用的长期需求。其中一个为这一趋势的预期是打开的器件结构导致改进或创新演出新的设计。在太阳能电池的领域,例如,使用金属纳米结构已被积极探索,因为它们的有趣的光学(即,等离子)特性,1潜在有益构造有效光捕获系统。2,3事实上,某些理论研究4 -6已经提出,这种等离子光俘获能达到效果超过了常规射线光学器件(纹理)为基础的光捕集极限。7其结果,制定战略以期望的金属纳米结构的太阳能电池集成已经变得越来越重要,为了实现这些理论预测。
许多策略都10,11这两者都被提出,以满足这种挑战。8-24这些包括,例如,简单的(低成本)金属膜8,9-或预先合成的金属纳米粒子的分散体的热退火,导致了成功示范等离子灯光诱杀。然而,应该指出的是,通过这些方法制造的金属纳米结构通常是具有挑战性的,以匹配的理论模型。与此相反,在半导体工业中传统的纳米加工技术,如光刻法和电子束光刻,12,13可以控制结构远低于亚100纳米的水平,但它们往往太昂贵和费时的适用于太阳能电池,其中以低成本大面积的能力是必不可少的。为了满足低成本,高通量,并具有纳米级的可控的大面积的要求,方法如纳米压印光刻,14-16软光刻,17,18 </sup>纳米球光刻,19-21和孔面罩胶体光刻22-24将大有可为。在这些选择中,我们已经开发出一种软平版印刷,先进转印印刷技术。25使用的纳米结构的聚(二甲基硅氧烷)(PDMS)的邮票和嵌段共聚物系粘合剂层,有序金属纳米结构的图案化可以容易地在多个技术实现的有关材料,包括那些用于太阳能电池。
本文的重点是介绍我们的转移印花方法的详细过程纳入有效的光捕获电浆纳米结构在现有的太阳能电池结构。作为一个示范的情况下,银纳米盘和薄膜氢化微晶硅(微晶硅:H)太阳能电池在该研究中选择的(图1),26虽然其它类型的金属和太阳能电池的,使用这个方法兼容。再加上它的进程简单的方法是感兴趣的不同研究人员的一个方便的工具来整合功能的金属纳米结构器件。
在这篇文章中,双层硬/软PDMS复合被用作压模材料。27这种组合被认为是必要的,以精确地复制父纳米结构在模具中,这是一个六方密堆圆孔数组,其直径的230纳米,500纳米的深度,并且为460nm孔中心到中心的间距。当使用只有软的PDMS,印模总是导致了纳米结构很差表面(例如,在反相柱结构没有锋利的边缘),由于具有低杨氏模量; 28因此,银纳米盘的转移印花从未实现的。
<p…The authors have nothing to disclose.
The authors thank New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) under Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), Japan, for the financial support.
Nanohole mold | Scivax http://www.scivax.com |
FLH230/500-120 | |
PTFE container | Eishin http://www.colbyeishin.com |
n/a | Custom made |
Hard-PDMS materials | Gelest http://www.gelest.com/gelest/forms/Home/home.aspx |
VDT-731 | Vinylmethylsiloxane-dimethylsiloxane copolymer |
SIP6831.1 | Pt-divinyltetramethyldisiloxane complex | ||
HMS-301 | Methylhydrosiloxane-dimethylsiloxane copolymer | ||
2,4,6,8-tetramethyltetra-vinylcyclotetrasiloxane | Sigma-Aldrich http://www.sigmaaldrich.com |
396281 | Additive for hard-PDMS |
Soft-PDMS materials | Dow Corning http://www.dowcorning.com |
Sylgard-184 | Silicone precursor |
PS-b-P2VP | Polymer Source http://polymersource.com |
P5742-S2VP | Mn × 103 = 133-b-132 |
Glass/SnO2:F substrates | Asahi Glass Co. Ltd. http://www.agc.com/english/company |
Type VU | Chemical mechanical polished by D-process Inc. (http://d-process.jp/index.html) to flatten the surfaces |
Detergent | Fruuchi Chemical Co. http://www.furuchi.co.jp/eng/main.htm |
Semico-clean 56 | Used for the cleaning of Glass/SnO2:F substrates |
ZnO:Ga supputtering target | AGC Ceramics Co. Ltd. http://www.agcc.jp/2005/en/index.html |
5.7GZO | |
Ag supputtering target | Mitsubishi Materials Co. http://www.mitsubishicarbide.com/mmc/en/index.html |
4NAg | |
Double-sided adhesive tape | Nisshin EM Co. http://nisshin-em.co.jp/information/carbontape.html |
732 | |
Polyimide tape | Dupont http://www.dupont.com/products-and-services/membranes-films/polyimide-films/brands/kapton-polyimide-film.html |
Kapton 650S#25 | |
Sn-Zn-based Solder | Kuroda Techno Co., Ltd. http://www.kuroda-techno.com/english/index.html |
Cerasolzer AL-200 | |
Digital micro pipette | Nichiryo http://www.nichiryo.co.jp/en/product/pipette/ex/index.html |
00-NPX2-20 00-NPX2-200 00-NPX2-1000 |
|
Heating chamber | Tokyo Rikakikai Co., Ltd. http://www.eyelaworld.com/product_view.php?id=120 |
VOS-201SD | |
Electron beam evaporator (two types) |
Canon-Anelva https://www.canon-anelva.co.jp/english/index.html |
n/a | Custom made |
Arios http://arios.com/ |
n/a | Custom made | |
Sputtering system | Ulvac http://www.ulvac.co.jp/en |
SBR-2306 | |
PECVD system | Shimadzu Emit Co. Ltd. http://www.shimadzu.co.jp/emit/en/ |
SLCM-13 | |
Ar plasma system | Diner Electric Gmbh http://www.plasma.de/index.html |
Femto | |
RIE system | Samco Inc. http://www.samcointl.com |
RIE-10NR | |
Ultrasonic soldering device | Colby-Eishin Enterprises, Inc. http://www.colbyeishin.com/sub_sunbonder.htm |
SUNBONDER | |
EQE measurement system | Bunkoukeiki Co. Ltd. http://www.bunkoukeiki.co.jp/ |
CEP-25BXS | |
J-V characteristics measurement system | OTENTOSUN-5S-I/V | ||
Amorphous Si reference cell | WPVS-NPB-S1 | For light intensity calibration | |
Digital multi-meter | Keithley Instruments Inc. http://www.keithley.com/ |
2400 |