Improved conversion efficiency of amorphous Si solar cells using a mesoporous ZnO pattern.

To provide a front transparent electrode for use in highly efficient hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film solar cells, porous flat layer and micro-patterns of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle (NP) layers were prepared through ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) and deposited on Al-doped ZnO (AZO) layers. Through this, it was found that a porous micro-pattern of ZnO NPs dispersed in resin can optimize the light-trapping pattern, with the efficiency of solar cells based on patterned or flat mesoporous ZnO layers increased by 27% and 12%, respectively.

Fabrication of silica nanostructures with a microwave assisted direct patterning process.

Silica nanostructures were fabricated on glass substrate using a microwave assisted direct patterning (MADP) process, which is a variety of soft lithography. During the MADP process using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), mold and microwave heating are performed simultaneously. Blanket thin film and micro- to nano-sized structures, including moth-eye patterns of SiO2, which consisted of coalesced silica nanoparticles, were formed on glass substrates from SiO2 nano-particle dispersed solutions with varied microwave heating time. Optical properties and surface morphologies of micro-sized hemisphere, nano-sized pillar, moth-eye and 50 nm sized line/space silica patterns were measured using UV-vis and a scanning electron microscope. X-ray diffraction analysis of SiO2 thin films with and without microwave heating was also carried out.