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High-performance antireflection coatings utilizing nanoporous layers

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Abstract

To harness the full spectrum of solar energy, optical reflections at the surface of a solar photovoltaic cell must be reduced as much as possible over the relevant solar spectral range and over a wide range of incident angles. The development of antireflection coatings embodying omni-directionality over a wide range of wavelengths is challenging. Recently, nanoporous films, fabricated by oblique-angle deposition and having tailored- and very low-refractive index properties, have been demonstrated. Tailorability of the refractive index and the ability to realize films with a very low-refractive index are properties critical in the performance of broadband, omnidirectional antireflection coatings. As such, nanoporous materials are ideally suited for developing near-perfect antireflection coatings. Here, we discuss multilayer antireflection coatings with near-perfect transmittance over the spectral range of 400−2000 nm and over widely varying angles of acceptance, 0−90°. The calculated solar optical-to-electrical efficiency enhancement that can be attained with nanoporous multilayer coatings over single-layer quarter-wave films is 18%, making these coatings highly attractive for solar cell applications.

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Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number DMR-0642573, U.S. DOE support under grant number DE-FG02-06ER46347, and by NYSTAR under contact number C070119. The authors also gratefully acknowledge support by Samsung LED, Sandia National Laboratories, Magnolia Solar Inc., Crystal IS, Troy Research Corporation, and New York State.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    David J. Poxson, Mei-Ling Kuo, Y.-S. Kim, Xing Yan, Jaehee Cho, Shawn-Yu Lin & E. Fred Schubert

  2. Raydex Technology, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Frank W. Mont

  3. Magnolia Solar, Inc., USA

    Roger E. Welser & Ashok K. Sood

Authors
  1. David J. Poxson
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  2. Mei-Ling Kuo
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  3. Frank W. Mont
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  4. Y.-S. Kim
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  5. Xing Yan
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  6. Roger E. Welser
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  7. Ashok K. Sood
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  8. Jaehee Cho
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  9. Shawn-Yu Lin
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  10. E. Fred Schubert
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Correspondence to David J. Poxson.

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Poxson, D.J., Kuo, ML., Mont, F.W. et al. High-performance antireflection coatings utilizing nanoporous layers. MRS Bulletin 36, 434–438 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2011.110

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