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Metamaterial mirrors in optoelectronic devices

Nature Nanotechnology volume 9, pages 542–547 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

The phase reversal that occurs when light is reflected from a metallic mirror produces a standing wave with reduced intensity near the reflective surface. This effect is highly undesirable in optoelectronic devices that use metal films as both electrical contacts and optical mirrors, because it dictates a minimum spacing between the metal and the underlying active semiconductor layers, therefore posing a fundamental limit to the overall thickness of the device. Here, we show that this challenge can be circumvented by using a metamaterial mirror whose reflection phase is tunable from that of a perfect electric mirror (φ = π) to that of a perfect magnetic mirror (φ = 0). This tunability in reflection phase can also be exploited to optimize the standing wave profile in planar devices to maximize light–matter interaction. Specifically, we show that light absorption and photocurrent generation in a sub-100 nm active semiconductor layer of a model solar cell can be enhanced by ∼20% over a broad spectral band.

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Figure 1: Optical properties of a metamaterial mirror.
Figure 2: Impact of metamaterial mirror on solar cell performance.
Figure 3: Structural and optical characterization of fabricated devices.
Figure 4: Quantification of device performance enhancement due to presence of a metamaterial mirror.

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Acknowledgements

This publication was based on work supported by the Center for Advanced Molecular Photovoltaics (CAMP) funded by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) under award no. KUS-C1-015-21. It was also supported by the Department of Energy (grant no. DE-FG07ER46426). The authors thank P. Landreman and V. Esfandyarpour for discussions.

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Author notes

  1. Erik C. Garnett

    Present address: Present address: Center for Nanophotonics, FOM institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098 XG, Amsterdam, the Netherlands,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials, Stanford University, 476 Lomita Mall, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Majid Esfandyarpour, Erik C. Garnett, Yi Cui, Michael D. McGehee & Mark L. Brongersma

  2. Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, 94025, California, USA

    Yi Cui

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  1. Majid Esfandyarpour
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  4. Michael D. McGehee
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Contributions

M.E. and M.L.B. conceived the idea of using metamaterial mirrors in optical devices. M.E. performed the optical simulations. M.E. and E.C.G. fabricated and tested the devices. All authors were involved in analysing the data and writing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark L. Brongersma.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Esfandyarpour, M., Garnett, E., Cui, Y. et al. Metamaterial mirrors in optoelectronic devices. Nature Nanotech 9, 542–547 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.117

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