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Perfect absorption in nanotextured thin films via Anderson-localized photon modes

Nature Photonics volume 9, pages 663–668 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

The enhancement of light absorption in absorber layers is crucial in a number of applications, including photovoltaics1 and thermoelectrics. The efficient use of natural resources and physical constraints such as limited charge extraction in photovoltaic devices require thin but efficient absorbers. Among the many different strategies used2,3,4,5,6,7, light diffraction8 and light localization9,10 at randomly nanotextured interfaces have been proposed to improve absorption. Although already exploited in commercial devices, the enhancement mechanism for devices with nanotextured interfaces is still subject to debate. Using coherent two-dimensional nanoscopy and coherent light scattering, we demonstrate the existence of localized photonic states in nanotextured amorphous silicon layers as used in commercial thin-film solar cells. Resonant absorption in these states accounts for the enhanced absorption in the long-wavelength cutoff region. Our observations establish that Anderson localization—that is, strong localization—is a highly efficient resonant absorption enhancement mechanism offering interesting opportunities for the design of efficient future absorber layers.

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Figure 1: Absorption enhancement in nanotextured a-Si:H absorbers.
Figure 2: Coherence properties of backscattered radiation from a-Si:H thin-film solar cells.
Figure 3: Coherent 2D nanoscopy of localized photonic states in nanotextured a-Si:H thin-film solar cells.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Malibu GmbH & Co KG for sample preparation and characterization and thank A. Steinbacher for help regarding the measurement and analysis software. This work was supported by the German Science Foundation (DFG) within the SPP 1391 (M.A., T.B. and W.P.), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy within the Globe-Si cooperative project (no. 0325446), the GSC 266 (P.T.) and by the Bavarian Collaborative Research Network ‘Solar Technologies Go Hybrid (SolTech)’ (T.B.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Physik and Research Center OPTIMAS, Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Str. 46, Kaiserslautern, 67663, Germany

    Martin Aeschlimann, Pascal Melchior, Martin Piecuch, Christian Schneider & Philip Thielen

  2. Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, 97074, Germany

    Tobias Brixner & Christian Kramer

  3. Röntgen Research Center for Complex Material Systems (RCCM), Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, Würzburg, 97074, Germany

    Tobias Brixner

  4. Fakultät für Physik, Universität Bielefeld, Universitätsstr. 25, Bielefeld, 33615, Germany

    Dominik Differt, Ulrich Heinzmann, Matthias Hensen, Florian Lükermann, Walter Pfeiffer, Helmut Stiebig & Christian Strüber

  5. Institut für Innovationstransfer an der Universität Bielefeld, Universitätsstr. 25, Bielefeld, 33615, Germany

    Ulrich Heinzmann, Florian Lükermann & Helmut Stiebig

  6. Graduate School of Excellence Materials Science in Mainz, Gottlieb-Daimler-Str. 47, Kaiserslautern, 67663, Germany

    Philip Thielen

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  1. Martin Aeschlimann
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Contributions

The author list is in alphabetical order. M.A., T.B. and W.P. initiated and supervised the work. H.S. coordinated sample preparation at Malibu GmbH & Co KG. U.H. and H.S. supervised the sample design and characterization performed by F.L. D.D. performed and evaluated the backscattering experiments. M.H., C.K., P.M., M.P., C.Sc., C.St. and P.T. performed the coherent 2D nanoscopy. C.St. and W.P. developed the data analysis procedure for evaluating the 2D spectra based on the thermionic emission model. All authors contributed to manuscript preparation.

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Correspondence to Walter Pfeiffer.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Aeschlimann, M., Brixner, T., Differt, D. et al. Perfect absorption in nanotextured thin films via Anderson-localized photon modes. Nature Photon 9, 663–668 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2015.159

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