Re-structuring of glass surface by ion post-embedding for transmission improvement and application in solar panels

Abstract

Inspired by ion-exchange technology as a means to chemical strengthening glass, alkali ions (K+) were, herein, superficially embedded into photovoltaic (PV) glass under certain thermal treatment conditions, and the evolution of the surface morphology and roughness was evaluated. The restructured surface exhibited enhanced transmission in the UV–Vis range. Ions penetrating the glass surface induced the dissociation of tetrahedral Si–O to form a new pole pair with a new non-bridging oxygen anion. The permittivity–frequency plots indicate a reduction in the dielectric constant of the entire glass and a consequent reduction in the refractive index. These changes may be the root cause of the transmission improvement. The PV performance was evaluated using sealed 2.25 cm2 perovskite solar cells, where current and consequent efficiency improvements are obtained. This thermal ion-invasion method is also compatible with standard anti-reflection porous SiO2 coating in PV glass production.