Objective

• To develop roll to roll compatible scheme to fabricate regular arrays of nanostructures
• To utilize regular array of nanostructures to improve photovoltaic performance
• To develop flexible solar cells with low cost metal substrates

Approach

• The nanostructure fabrication involves nanoimprint and low cost electrochemical anodization of aluminum
• Thin film photovoltaic material is deposited on Al substrate to demonstrate the effectiveness
• The performance of the devices are characterized with electrical, optical measurements coupled with device modeling.

Impact

• This project has demonstrated that three dimensional nanoarchetectures can be fabricated at large scale with a low cost approach.
• These fabricated nanostructures have demonstrated their effectiveness on improve device photovoltaic performance.
• The measurement and device modeling for the first time revealing a set of systematic design guidelines for high performance nanostructured solar cells.
• The results show that large scale production of nanostructured solar cells is viable. They can be used for a variety of applications, including portable electronics, building-integrated photovotaics, etc.
• In addition, the developed nanostructures can be also utilized for other energy related applications, such as energy storage, due to their large surface area.