Nanoscale Photon Management for Solar Energy Harvesting

By Mark Brongersma

Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

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Abstract

Nanophotonics is an exciting new field of science and technology that is directed towards making the smallest possible structures and devices that can manipulate light. In this presentation, I will start by showing how semiconductor and metallic nanostructures can mold the flow of light in unexpected ways and well below the diffraction limit. I will then continue by illustrating how such nanostructures can be used to enhance our ability to harvest solar energy with solar cells and photoelectrochemical cells for generating solar fuel. In this part of the talk, it will become obvious how very different ways of photon management can be achieved by controlling the size and spacing (wavelength-scale/subwavelength-scale), shape, and spatial arrangement (periodic/aperiodic) of the nanostructures. I will conclude by showing how nanophotonics can also be used in the fabrication of critical components of solar energy harvesting devices.

Bio

Mark Brongersma Mark Brongersma is a Professor and Keck Faculty Scholar in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University. His most recent work has focused on Si-based light- emitting materials, light sources, modulators, detectors, and metallic nanostructures that can manipulate and actively control the flow of light at the nanoscale. Brongersma has given over 50 invited presentations in the last 5 years on the topic of nano- photonics and plasmonics. He has also presented 6 tutorials at International conferences on these topics. He has authoredco- authored over 130 publications, including papers in Science, Nature Photonics, Nature Materials, and Nature Nanotechnology. He also holds a number of patents in the area of Si microphotonics and plasmonics. He received a National Science Foundation Career Award, the Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching, the International Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences (Physics) for his work on plasmonics, and is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the SPIE, and the American Physical Society. Dr. Brongersma received his PhD in Materials Science from the FOM Institute in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1998. From 1998-2001 he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the California Institute of Technology.

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Researchers should cite this work as follows:

  • Mark Brongersma (2013), "Nanoscale Photon Management for Solar Energy Harvesting," https://nanohub.org/resources/19889.

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Birck Technology Center, Room 2001, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Nanoscale Photon Management for Solar Energy Harvesting
  • Nanoscale Photon Management for Solar Energy Harvesting 1. Nanoscale Photon Management fo… 0
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  • Metals Play a Dual Role in Many Solar Cells 2. Metals Play a Dual Role in Man… 59.0256923590257
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  • Conventional Metallic Contacts Present a Challenge 3. Conventional Metallic Contacts… 122.12212212212212
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  • Possible Alternative Strategy: A Magnetic Mirror 4. Possible Alternative Strategy:… 219.51951951951952
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  • Illustrating the Benefits of a Magnetic Mirror 5. Illustrating the Benefits of a… 321.95528862195528
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  • The world of High Impedance Surfaces and Metasurface Reflectors 6. The world of High Impedance Su… 377.47747747747746
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  • Implementation of a Poor Man's Metamaterial Mirror 7. Implementation of a Poor Man's… 516.31631631631637
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  • Analyzing the Electric Fields Above Planar and Grooved Reflectors 8. Analyzing the Electric Fields … 645.54554554554556
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  • A Magnetic Mirror (MM) is Realized with Properly-size Grooves 9. A Magnetic Mirror (MM) is Real… 748.48181514848181
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  • Another Viewpoint: Light Reflects from the Bottom of the Grooves ! 10. Another Viewpoint: Light Refle… 777.71104437771112
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  • The Groove Dimensions Control the Reflection Phase Pickup 11. The Groove Dimensions Control … 913.24657991324659
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  • Exploring Wavelength Dependence of E-field near the Mirror Surface 12. Exploring Wavelength Dependenc… 1025.7924591257925
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  • Application of Metamaterial Mirrors to Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells 13. Application of Metamaterial Mi… 1057.8244911578245
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  • Fabrication of sub groove arrays in a Ag Back Contact 14. Fabrication of sub groove a… 1164.6312979646314
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  • Application of Metamaterial Mirror to a Basic Organic Solar Cell 15. Application of Metamaterial Mi… 1215.9826493159826
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  • Full Field Simulations of an Optimized Solar Cell 16. Full Field Simulations of an O… 1265.865865865866
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  • Optical properties of sub groove arrays in Ag 17. Optical properties of sub g… 1381.5815815815815
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  • Demonstration of Enhanced Absorption with Metamaterial Mirror 18. Demonstration of Enhanced Abso… 1446.2796129462797
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  • Metamaterial Mirror Provides Broadband Absorption Enhancement 19. Metamaterial Mirror Provides B… 1533.2665999332667
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  • Nanostructuring to Enhance Solar Energy Conversion to Fuels 20. Nanostructuring to Enhance Sol… 1577.4441107774442
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  • The Road Towards Inexpensive and Efficient Solar Energy Conversion 21. The Road Towards Inexpensive a… 1646.0794127460795
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  • Let's Consider a Prototypical Water Splitting Catalyst 22. Let's Consider a Prototypical … 1767.6343009676343
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  • Photon Management to the Rescue ! 23. Photon Management to the Rescu… 1849.7163830497163
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  • High-Index Nanostructures Naturally Exhibit Optical Resonances 24. High-Index Nanostructures Natu… 1934.1675008341676
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  • Tuning the Optical Properties of High Index Nanostructures 25. Tuning the Optical Properties … 1991.4914914914916
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  • Optical Properties of Dielectric/Semiconductor Structures 26. Optical Properties of Dielectr… 2125.0250250250251
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  • Simplest Geometry to Test Concepts: Fe2O3 Nanobeam Arrays 27. Simplest Geometry to Test Conc… 2198.8655321988658
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  • Fabrication of Fe2O3 Nanobeam Arrays 28. Fabrication of Fe2O3 Nanobeam … 2298.2649315982649
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  • Step 1: Optimization of a Single of Fe2O3 Nanobeam 29. Step 1: Optimization of a Sing… 2379.412746079413
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  • Step 2: Optimizing the Nanobeam Array Period for 160 nm Beam 30. Step 2: Optimizing the Nanobea… 2475.6423089756422
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  • Step 2: Optimizing the Nanobeam Array Period for 160 nm Beam 31. Step 2: Optimizing the Nanobea… 2546.0794127460795
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  • Experimental Photocurrent Enhancement Spectra Taken from an Optimized Fe2O3 Nanobeam Array 32. Experimental Photocurrent Enha… 2550.7841174507844
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  • Experimental Photocurrent Enhancement Spectra Taken from an Optimized Fe2O3 Nanobeam Array 33. Experimental Photocurrent Enha… 2602.0687354020688
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  • Transparent Electrodes: A Great Use of Metallic Nanostructures 34. Transparent Electrodes: A Grea… 2673.4734734734734
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  • Plasmonic Nanowelding of a Ag Nanowire Mesh 35. Plasmonic Nanowelding of a Ag … 2730.13013013013
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  • TEM Before and After Plasmonic Nanowelding 36. TEM Before and After Plasmonic… 2784.3510176843511
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  • Self-limited Plasmonic Nanowelding Simulations 37. Self-limited Plasmonic Nanowel… 2840.6740073406741
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  • Optical Nanowelding: A Plasmonic Resonance Effect 38. Optical Nanowelding: A Plasmon… 2964.5311978645314
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  • Light Scattering Properties of Ag Nanowires 39. Light Scattering Properties of… 2964.9983316649987
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  • Electrical Conduction Properties of Individual Welded Wires 40. Electrical Conduction Properti… 2965.4320987654323
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  • Electrical and Optical Properties of Welded Wires 41. Electrical and Optical Propert… 2966.2328995662328
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  • Summary and Conclusions 42. Summary and Conclusions 3014.8148148148148
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  • Step 1: Optimization of a Single of Fe2O3 Nanobeam 43. Step 1: Optimization of a Sing… 3117.0170170170172
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