Show simple item record

dc.contributor.advisorInna Kozinsky and Marc Baldo.en_US
dc.contributor.authorMailoa, Jonathan Pen_US
dc.contributor.otherMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-03-01T14:33:05Z
dc.date.available2013-03-01T14:33:05Z
dc.date.copyright2012en_US
dc.date.issued2012en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77250
dc.descriptionThesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2012.en_US
dc.descriptionThis electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.en_US
dc.descriptionCataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.en_US
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (p. 77-80).en_US
dc.description.abstractThin film silicon solar cells, which are commonly made from microcrystalline silicon ([mu]c-Si) or amorphous silicon (a-Si), have been considered inexpensive alternatives to thick polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) solar cells. However, the low solar efficiency of these thin film cells has become a major problem, which prevents thin film silicon cells from being able to compete with other solar cells in the market. One source of inefficiency is the light reflection off the interface between the thin film cell's top Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) and the light absorbing silicon. In this work, we demonstrate the use of nanocone textured ZnO as the anti-reflection surface that mitigates this problem. The tapered structure of the nanocone forms a smooth transition of refractive index on the interface between the TCO (ZnO) and the silicon, effectively acting as a wideband Anti-Reflection coating (AR coating). Finite Difference Time Domain simulation is used to estimate the optimal ZnO nanocone parameter (periodicity and height) to be applied on a single junction microcrystalline silicon ([mu]c-Si) solar cell. Relative improvement over 25% in optical performance is achieved in the simulated structure when compared to state-of-the-art [mu]c-Si cell structure. Cheap and scalable colloidal lithography method is then developed to fabricate ZnO nanocone with the desired geometry. Since the ZnO texturing technique works by depositing ZnO on nanocone-textured glass substrate, the technique is potentially applicable to Transparent Conducting Oxides other than ZnO as well, making it a useful TCO texturing technique for solar cell applications.en_US
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityby Jonathan P. Mailoa.en_US
dc.format.extent80 p.en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherMassachusetts Institute of Technologyen_US
dc.rightsM.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.en_US
dc.rights.urihttp://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582en_US
dc.subjectElectrical Engineering and Computer Science.en_US
dc.titleAnti-reflection zinc oxide nanocones for higher efficiency thin-film silicon solar cellsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.description.degreeM.Eng.en_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
dc.identifier.oclc826515214en_US


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record