Thin-film crystalline silicon solar cell using a nanoimprinted photonic-plasmonic back-reflector structure
US12166147B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 7, 2022 |
| Grant date | Dec 10, 2024 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 20, 2042 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02P70/50
Abstract
Disclosed are embodiments of a thin-film photovoltaic technology including a single-junction crystalline silicon solar cell with a photonic-plasmonic back-reflector structure for lightweight, flexible energy conversion applications. The back-reflector enables high absorption for long-wavelength and near-infrared photons via diffraction and light-concentration, implemented by periodic texturing of the bottom-contact layer by nanoimprint lithography. The thin-film crystalline silicon solar cell is implemented in a heterojunction design with amorphous silicon, where plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is used for all device layers, including a low-temperature crystalline silicon deposition step. Excimer laser crystallization is used to integrate crystalline and amorphous silicon within a monolithic process, where a thin layer of amorphous silicon is converted to a crystalline silicon seed layer prior to deposition of a crystalline silicon absorber layer via PECVD. The crystalline nature of the absorber layer and the back-reflector enable efficiencies higher than what is achievable in other thin-film silicon devices.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.