Abstract
Vertically aligned silicon nanowire (VA-SiNW) arrays can significantly enhance light absorption and reduce light reflection for efficient light trapping. VA-SiNW arrays thus have the potential to improve solar cell design by providing reduced front-face reflection while allowing the fabrication of thin, flexible, and efficient silicon-based solar cells by lowering the required amount of silicon. Because their interaction with light is highly dependent on the array geometry, the ability to control the array morphology, functionality, and dimension offers many opportunities. Herein, after a short discussion about the remarkable optical properties of SiNW arrays, we report on our recent progress in using chemical and electrochemical methods to structure and pattern SiNW arrays in three dimensions, providing substrates with spatially controlled optical properties. Our approach is based on metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) and three-dimensional electrochemical axial lithography (3DEAL), which are both affordable and large-scale wet-chemical methods that can provide a spatial resolution all the way down to the sub-5 nm range.
Highlights
Aligned silicon nanowire (VA-SiNW) arrays can significantly trap light thanks to various enhanced absorption and scattering processes
After discussing the remarkable optical properties of SiNW arrays, we report on our recent progress in using chemical and electrochemical methods to structure and pattern SiNW arrays in three dimensions, which provide substrates with spatially controlled optical properties at both the nanoscale and the macroscale
Vertically aligned silicon nanowire (VA-SiNW) irradiated under normal incidence can sustain Fabry−Peŕ ot resonances where the incident light is reflected at the bottom and the top of the nanowire array to form a standing wave, leading to a characteristic dip in the reflectance spectrum.[9,12]
Summary
Aligned silicon nanowire (VA-SiNW) arrays can significantly trap light thanks to various enhanced absorption and scattering processes. As such, they are a promising platform to improve solar cell design by (i) reducing front-face reflection; (ii) allowing the fabrication of thin, flexible, and efficient silicon-based solar cells; and (iii) potentially decreasing fabrication cost by lowering the amount of silicon required to absorb the incoming solar light. The controlled structuring and patterning of Si in three dimensions can provide an additional degree of freedom by providing the opportunity to control light absorption in three dimensions, which could be beneficial for improved photovoltaic and photocatalytic systems. After discussing the remarkable optical properties of SiNW arrays, we report on our recent progress in using chemical and electrochemical methods to structure and pattern SiNW arrays in three dimensions, which provide substrates with spatially controlled optical properties at both the nanoscale and the macroscale
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