Optimizing Design of 2D Sub-wavelength Gratings for Antireflection Coatings of Multi-junction III-V Concentrator Cells

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorFreundlich, Alex
dc.contributor.committeeMemberLau, Kwong
dc.contributor.committeeMemberRuchhoeft, Paul
dc.contributor.committeeMemberWood, Lowell T.
dc.creatorWang, Wei 1987-
dc.date.accessioned2014-12-19T13:08:03Z
dc.date.available2014-12-19T13:08:03Z
dc.date.createdDecember 2012
dc.date.issued2012-12
dc.date.updated2014-12-19T13:08:03Z
dc.description.abstractIn III-V concentrator applications sunlight is focused onto the surface of cell and consequently light arrives with a wide angular distribution that limits the effectiveness of conventional thin-film antireflective coatings (ARC). Furthermore, the transmission properties are generally degraded non-uniformly over the electromagnetic spectrum, which in the case of multi-junction solar cells, leads to additional subcell current matching-related losses. Here, and in an attempt to identify a better alternative to the conventional dual layer ARCs, we have undertaken a systematic analysis of design parameters and angular dependent antireflective properties of dielectric grating formed through the implementation of sub-wavelength arrays of 2D pyramidal and hemispherical textures. The study includes evaluation of these properties for several common dielectrics i.e. SiO2, Si3N4, SiC, TiO2, and ZnS, through a careful selection of dielectric material and design. These structures can significantly surpass the performance of planar double-layer ARCs (i.e. MgF2/ZnS), and the total number of reflected photons over 380-2000 nm wavelength range can be reduced to less than 2%, by use of single material textured dielectric. It is also shown that the implementation of these structures for a typical concentrated 3 or 4 junction solar cell with acceptance angles ranging from 0-60 degrees, reduces total losses of reflected photons for each subcell to less than 4%, hence reduces current degradation.
dc.description.departmentPhysics, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10657/829
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectAntireflection grating
dc.subjectAngular tolerant
dc.subjectConcentrator
dc.subjectDielectric
dc.subjectIII-V
dc.subjectPhotovoltaics
dc.subjectSimulations
dc.subjectSubwavelength texture
dc.subjectThin film model
dc.subjectTransfer matrix method
dc.subject.lcshPhysics
dc.titleOptimizing Design of 2D Sub-wavelength Gratings for Antireflection Coatings of Multi-junction III-V Concentrator Cells
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
thesis.degree.departmentPhysics, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplinePhysics
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
formatted thesis 1220.pdf
Size:
3.52 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.11 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download

Collections

Published ETD Collection