Large-area nanostructured self-assembled antireflection coatings for photovoltaic devices

Abstract

The scalability of nanostructured, self-assembled antireflection (AR) coatings has been demonstrated on 6-inch glass and silicon wafers. Ultra-high transmittance through these large-area coatings has been confirmed by measuring the short circuit current of a CIGS-based thin film photovoltaic (PV) device placed below the large-area AR-coated glass wafer. At normal light incidence, the light transmitted through the AR coated glass wafer yields 5% more short-circuit current compared to the uncoated glass wafer. At off-angle incidence, the light transmitted through the AR-coated wafer yields nearly 20% higher short-circuit current compared to light transmitted through an uncoated glass wafer. The large-area AR coating preserves ultra-high transmittance over a wide range of incident angles and has the potential to enhance PV device performance from dawn to dusk.