Simple Self-Assembly Strategy of Nanospheres on 3D Substrate and Its Application for Enhanced Textured Silicon Solar Cell

Abstract

Nanomaterials and nanostructures provide new opportunities to achieve high-performance optical and optoelectronic devices. Three-dimensional (3D) surfaces commonly exist in those devices (such as light-trapping structures or intrinsic grains), and here, we propose requests for nanoscale control over nanostructures on 3D substrates. In this paper, a simple self-assembly strategy of nanospheres for 3D substrates is demonstrated, featuring controllable density (from sparse to close-packed) and controllable layer (from a monolayer to multi-layers). Taking the assembly of wavelength-scale SiO2 nanospheres as an example, it has been found that textured 3D substrate promotes close-packed SiO2 spheres compared to the planar substrate. Distribution density and layers of SiO2 coating can be well controlled by tuning the assembly time and repeating the assembly process. With such a versatile strategy, the enhancement effects of SiO2 coating on textured silicon solar cells were systematically examined by varying assembly conditions. It was found that the close-packed SiO2 monolayer yielded a maximum relative efficiency enhancement of 9.35%. Combining simulation and macro/micro optical measurements, we attributed the enhancement to the nanosphere-induced concentration and anti-reflection of incident light. The proposed self-assembly strategy provides a facile and cost-effective approach for engineering nanomaterials at 3D interfaces.