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Light Management for Optoelectronics
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Light Management for Optoelectronics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Optics and Lasers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 June 2017) | Viewed by 32294

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jürgen Hüpkes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH; Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung (IEK 5), 52425 Jülich, Germany
Interests: stability of TCOs; light scattering and trapping
Dr. Karsten Bittkau

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH; Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung (IEK 5), 52425 Jülich, Germany
Interests: light scattering and trapping; plasmonics; optical near field microscopy; nano-optics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Light Management for Optoelectronics” tries to call the attention of all the scientific community working on the improvement of optoelectronic device performance by means of optimized photon management.
Light trapping is a key element to achieve optimum performance in a number of applications, including energy conversion (e.g. solar cells), light detection (e.g. photodiodes), lightning (e.g. light emitting diodes) and spectroscopy. In particular, light trapping is being applied in every photovoltaic technology, so the entire scientific community in the PV field is interested by developments in that area. Similarly, light emitting devices create photons inside a device and the coupling of optical modes to the outside world is based on the physical principles used for light trapping in light harvesting devices.
 
The scope of this Special Issue could include investigations in different areas, such as:

  • Interference based anti-reflection coatings (ARC), including mono- and multi-layer configurations, and respective coating deposition methods
  • Anti-reflection effects of nano-rough interfaces and effective media
  • Light scattering at randomly textured interfaces, especially textured transparent conductive oxides (TCO): Materials, roughness engineering, and production methods
  • Light scattering at (quasi-)periodic geometries and corresponding production methods
  • Resonant light trapping be means of photonic crystals, including 1D, 2D and 3D structures.
  • Light coupling to waveguide modes in optoelectronic devices.
  • Plasmonic nanostructures
  • Intermediate reflector layers in multi-junction devices
  • Light trapping structures and low temperature processes for light management, e.g., in organic or chalcopyrite solar cells
  • External optical elements for light trapping including external reflector or refractive elements
  • Advanced optical modeling, especially with complex multi-junction configurations
  • Characterization and assessment of light management in optoelectronic devices, including spectrally and angle resolved measurements, optical near-field measurements

Dr. Jürgen Hüpkes
Dr. Karsten Bittkau
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • light scattering
  • light trapping
  • texturing
  • photonic crystals
  • nano-optics

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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2131 KiB  
Article
Broadening of Light Coupling to Waveguide Modes in Solar Cells by Disordered Grating Textures
by Karsten Bittkau, André Hoffmann, Ulrich W. Paetzold and Reinhard Carius
Appl. Sci. 2017, 7(7), 725; https://doi.org/10.3390/app7070725 - 15 Jul 2017
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5080
Abstract
We investigated the light coupling to waveguide modes in nanophotonic thin-film solar cells exhibiting a tailored disordered grating texture by rigorous optical simulations. Such disordered nanophotonic light trapping concepts have demonstrated enhanced short-circuit current density compared to ordered nanophotonic thin-film solar cells. This [...] Read more.
We investigated the light coupling to waveguide modes in nanophotonic thin-film solar cells exhibiting a tailored disordered grating texture by rigorous optical simulations. Such disordered nanophotonic light trapping concepts have demonstrated enhanced short-circuit current density compared to ordered nanophotonic thin-film solar cells. This observation is commonly explained by a spectral broadening of the resonant light coupling to waveguide modes. In this work, we investigated the origin of this spectral broadening. We identified two basic mechanisms that lead to a spectral broadening of the light coupling to waveguide modes: (1) the broadening of the wave vector transferred by the disordered interface texture and (2) the broadening of the waveguide mode due to the distortion of the wave guiding absorber layer. Depending on the type of disorder, the contribution from each of the mechanisms varies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Light Management for Optoelectronics)
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1894 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Light Trapping in Silicon Nanowire and Surface Textured Thin-Film Solar Cells
by Rion Parsons, Asman Tamang, Vladislav Jovanov, Veit Wagner and Dietmar Knipp
Appl. Sci. 2017, 7(4), 427; https://doi.org/10.3390/app7040427 - 24 Apr 2017
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6530
Abstract
The optics of axial silicon nanowire solar cells is investigated and compared to silicon thin-film solar cells with textured contact layers. The quantum efficiency and short circuit current density are calculated taking a device geometry into account, which can be fabricated by using [...] Read more.
The optics of axial silicon nanowire solar cells is investigated and compared to silicon thin-film solar cells with textured contact layers. The quantum efficiency and short circuit current density are calculated taking a device geometry into account, which can be fabricated by using standard semiconductor processing. The solar cells with textured absorber and textured contact layers provide a gain of short circuit current density of 4.4 mA/cm2 and 6.1 mA/cm2 compared to a solar cell on a flat substrate, respectively. The influence of the device dimensions on the quantum efficiency and short circuit current density will be discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Light Management for Optoelectronics)
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2715 KiB  
Article
Self-Organized Nanoscale Roughness Engineering for Broadband Light Trapping in Thin Film Solar Cells
by Carlo Mennucci, Christian Martella, Lucia V. Mercaldo, Iurie Usatii, Paola Delli Veneri and Francesco Buatier de Mongeot
Appl. Sci. 2017, 7(4), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/app7040355 - 4 Apr 2017
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4202
Abstract
We present a self-organized method based on defocused ion beam sputtering for nanostructuring glass substrates which feature antireflective and light trapping effects. By irradiating the substrate, capped with a thin gold (Au) film, a self-organized Au nanowire stencil mask is firstly created. The [...] Read more.
We present a self-organized method based on defocused ion beam sputtering for nanostructuring glass substrates which feature antireflective and light trapping effects. By irradiating the substrate, capped with a thin gold (Au) film, a self-organized Au nanowire stencil mask is firstly created. The morphology of the mask is then transferred to the glass surface by further irradiating the substrate, finally producing high aspect ratio, uniaxial ripple-like nanostructures whose morphological parameters can be tailored by varying the ion fluence. The effect of a Ti adhesion layer, interposed between glass and Au with the role of inhibiting nanowire dewetting, has also been investigated in order to achieve an improved morphological tunability of the templates. Morphological and optical characterization have been carried out, revealing remarkable light trapping performance for the largest ion fluences. The photon harvesting capability of the nanostructured glass has been tested for different preparation conditions by fabricating thin film amorphous Si solar cells. The comparison of devices grown on textured and flat substrates reveals a relative increase of the short circuit current up to 25%. However, a detrimental impact on the electrical performance is observed with the rougher morphologies endowed with steep v-shaped grooves. We finally demonstrate that post-growth ion beam restructuring of the glass template represents a viable approach toward improved electrical performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Light Management for Optoelectronics)
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Review

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9624 KiB  
Review
A Review of Three-Dimensional Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy (3D-SNOM) and Its Applications in Nanoscale Light Management
by Paul Bazylewski, Sabastine Ezugwu and Giovanni Fanchini
Appl. Sci. 2017, 7(10), 973; https://doi.org/10.3390/app7100973 - 22 Sep 2017
Cited by 93 | Viewed by 15824
Abstract
In this article, we present an overview of aperture and apertureless type scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) techniques that have been developed, with a focus on three-dimensional (3D) SNOM methods. 3D SNOM has been undertaken to image the local distribution (within ~100 nm [...] Read more.
In this article, we present an overview of aperture and apertureless type scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) techniques that have been developed, with a focus on three-dimensional (3D) SNOM methods. 3D SNOM has been undertaken to image the local distribution (within ~100 nm of the surface) of the electromagnetic radiation scattered by random and deterministic arrays of metal nanostructures or photonic crystal waveguides. Individual metal nanoparticles and metal nanoparticle arrays exhibit unique effects under light illumination, including plasmon resonance and waveguiding properties, which can be directly investigated using 3D-SNOM. In the second part of this article, we will review a few applications in which 3D-SNOM has proven to be useful for designing and understanding specific nano-optoelectronic structures. Examples include the analysis of the nano-optical response phonetic crystal waveguides, aperture antennae and metal nanoparticle arrays, as well as the design of plasmonic solar cells incorporating random arrays of copper nanoparticles as an optical absorption enhancement layer, and the use of 3D-SNOM to probe multiple components of the electric and magnetic near-fields without requiring specially designed probe tips. A common denominator of these examples is the added value provided by 3D-SNOM in predicting the properties-performance relationship of nanostructured systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Light Management for Optoelectronics)
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