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Spectrophotometric analysis of stochastic hybrid black silicon nanostructures for crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells

Spectrophotometric analysis of stochastic hybrid black silicon nanostructures for crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells
Spectrophotometric analysis of stochastic hybrid black silicon nanostructures for crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells
Black silicon nanotextures offer exceptionally low levels of reflectance and are of interest to the field of solar photovoltaics. The nanowires that form this texture create a graded refractive index, allowing light to be absorbed with high efficiency. Explored here is the application of these nanotextures on top of conventional microscale pyramids, combining the advantages forwarded by the latter, predominantly being a second chance for absorption, and the former, being light steering. These structures are known as hybrid black silicon. Variations on the wet chemical etch parameters are explored and related to topological features, which can, in–turn, be related to front surface reflectance. The hybrid black silicon textures created are shown to exhibit reflectance as low as 0.7%. An advanced hemispherical reflectometry system is reported, designed for measuring the optical characteristics of a variety of samples resolved against wavelength, angle of incidence, and polarisation. Variable angle reflectance data enables a new perspective on the interaction between electromagnetic waves and nanostructures, which do not interact with light in the same way as their microscale counterparts. The versatility of this data is demonstrated for photovoltaics when combined with geographic spectral irradiance data. Solar cell optical performance, when structured with the textures measured in the reflectometer, is successfully predicted should that cell be placed in Southampton, UK. This mathematical formulation is capable, alongside the appropriate angle–resolved reflectance data, of approximating the optical performance of a given sample when situated almost anywhere in the world. Supporting the reflectance data gathered through this work is a black silicon nanowire model, pseudorandomised using custom–made algorithms against a set of desired surface features. The model uniquely generates complex surface topologies that meet the requirements of electromagnetic wave optics simulations. The model reported showcases an accuracy within the ±2% relative error against measured reflectance, and offers a new, fast, and accurate way of simulating nanostructures without the need to manufacture them in bulk.
University of Southampton
Tyson, Jack James
1ace1d00-d4dd-48c7-aa05-61951e074e89
Tyson, Jack James
1ace1d00-d4dd-48c7-aa05-61951e074e89
Boden, Stuart
83976b65-e90f-42d1-9a01-fe9cfc571bf8
Rahman, Tasmiat
e7432efa-2683-484d-9ec6-2f9c568d30cd

Tyson, Jack James (2023) Spectrophotometric analysis of stochastic hybrid black silicon nanostructures for crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis, 208pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Black silicon nanotextures offer exceptionally low levels of reflectance and are of interest to the field of solar photovoltaics. The nanowires that form this texture create a graded refractive index, allowing light to be absorbed with high efficiency. Explored here is the application of these nanotextures on top of conventional microscale pyramids, combining the advantages forwarded by the latter, predominantly being a second chance for absorption, and the former, being light steering. These structures are known as hybrid black silicon. Variations on the wet chemical etch parameters are explored and related to topological features, which can, in–turn, be related to front surface reflectance. The hybrid black silicon textures created are shown to exhibit reflectance as low as 0.7%. An advanced hemispherical reflectometry system is reported, designed for measuring the optical characteristics of a variety of samples resolved against wavelength, angle of incidence, and polarisation. Variable angle reflectance data enables a new perspective on the interaction between electromagnetic waves and nanostructures, which do not interact with light in the same way as their microscale counterparts. The versatility of this data is demonstrated for photovoltaics when combined with geographic spectral irradiance data. Solar cell optical performance, when structured with the textures measured in the reflectometer, is successfully predicted should that cell be placed in Southampton, UK. This mathematical formulation is capable, alongside the appropriate angle–resolved reflectance data, of approximating the optical performance of a given sample when situated almost anywhere in the world. Supporting the reflectance data gathered through this work is a black silicon nanowire model, pseudorandomised using custom–made algorithms against a set of desired surface features. The model uniquely generates complex surface topologies that meet the requirements of electromagnetic wave optics simulations. The model reported showcases an accuracy within the ±2% relative error against measured reflectance, and offers a new, fast, and accurate way of simulating nanostructures without the need to manufacture them in bulk.

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Published date: 3 November 2023

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 483743
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/483743
PURE UUID: 6d08f58b-ee7d-41f7-baf6-b9ecf7112e40
ORCID for Jack James Tyson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3112-5899
ORCID for Stuart Boden: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4232-1828
ORCID for Tasmiat Rahman: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6485-2128

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 03 Nov 2023 18:06
Last modified: 16 Jul 2024 01:46

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Contributors

Author: Jack James Tyson ORCID iD
Thesis advisor: Stuart Boden ORCID iD
Thesis advisor: Tasmiat Rahman ORCID iD

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