Goali: Nano-Structuring of Silicon Surfaces: A Low Cost Route to Manufacturing Silicon Solar cells

这项工作的研究目标是通过巧妙地利用硅表面的自组装纳米结构，为提高硅太阳能电池的效率提供一些途径，从而允许更多的光被捕获并转化为电能。在本提案中，我们概述了一些可能的解决方案，包括微和纳米纹理。纳米纹理提供了效率方面的优势，因为即使表面被半覆盖，这种设备的收集效率也可以达到100%，因为表面不反射入射光的很大一部分（即0.1-0.2%）。研究人员还将研究一种利用新型气泡阵列技术制造能够集中太阳能的微透镜阵列的方法。这项工作的教育目标是在纳米制造领域培养研究生和博士后研究人员，这些研究领域涉及跨学科的自组装方法，这些方法将在能源相关问题上得到应用，特别是在硅太阳能电池的制造方面。这项工作的更广泛影响包括推进支持太阳能作为替代能源的研究，因为它在可再生方面承诺最多，即不依赖化石燃料，并且广泛可用。要实现太阳能电池的广泛应用，需要在制造成本和转换效率方面取得突破。这项工作如果成功，将提供一种以较低成本制造硅太阳能电池的方法，使这项技术能够与传统能源竞争，使其成为美国发电的一个有吸引力的替代方案。在教育方面，与佐治亚理工学院的卓越光伏中心（UCEP）合作开展外展活动，为高中社区（学生和科学教师）提供技术支持，以解决我们国家和世界面临的能源问题。

The research objective of this effort is to provide a number of routes for making silicon solar cells more efficient by the clever use of self-assembly to nanostructure the surface of silicon, thus allowing for more light to be trapped and converted to electricity. In this proposal, we outline a number of possible solutions including micro and nanotexturing. Nanotexturing offers advantages in efficiency since the collection efficiency of such a device can be 100% even if the surface is half-covered since the surfaces do not reflect a significant fraction of the incident light (i.e., 0.1-0.2%). A method for producing microlens arrays that can concentrate the solar energy using a novel bubble array technology will also be pursued. The educational objective of this effort is to train graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in area of research that is quite interdisciplinary dealing with methods of self-assembly in area of nanomanufacturing that will find use in energy related issues, in particular in the manufacturing of silicon solar cells.The broader impacts of this work include advancing research that supports solar energy as an alternate energy source as it promises the most in terms of renewability, i.e., non-reliance on fossil fuels, and widespread availability. To achieve widespread utilization of solar cells will require breakthroughs in manufacturing costs and in conversion efficiency. This work, if successful, will provide a means of manufacturing silicon solar cells at a lower cost so that this technology can compete with conventional sources of power by making them an attractive alternative for power generation in the US. Regarding education, collaboration with the Center for Excellence on Photovoltaics (UCEP) at Georgia Tech in their outreach activities will provide support to the high school communities (students and science teachers) regarding technologies that will address the energy issues facing our nation and the world.