Broadband-antireflective hybrid nanopillar array for photovoltaic application

Abstract

Subwavelength structures such as nanopillars, nanoholes, and nanodomes have recently attracted considerable attention as antireflective structures for solar cells. Recent studies on the optical property of nanopillar array revealed that the reflection minimum is related to the diameter, the pitch, and the height of nanopillars. Here, we investigate the “hybrid” nanopillar array, which is composed of different diameters of nanopillars. Finite differential time domain simulations revealed that the photogeneration in a hybrid nanopillar array is spatially heterogeneous: carriers are generated mainly in the narrower pillars for short-wavelength incident light and in the thicker pillars for long-wavelength light, respectively. Hybrid silicon nanopillar arrays fabricated by using electron beam lithography and dry etching show excellent broadband antireflection property. Hybrid nanopillar array is thus highly promising for next-generation antireflection for photovoltaic applications.