Optimization of hierarchical structure and nanoscale-enabled plasmonic refraction for window electrodes in photovoltaics

Bing Han, Qiang Peng, Ruopeng Li, Qikun Rong, Yang Ding, Eser Metin Akinoglu, Xueyuan Wu, Xin Wang, Xubing Lu, Qianming Wang, Guofu Zhou, Jun-Ming Liu, Zhifeng Ren, Michael Giersig, Andrzej Herczynski, Krzysztof Kempa () and Jinwei Gao ()
Additional contact information
Bing Han: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University
Qiang Peng: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University
Ruopeng Li: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University
Qikun Rong: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University
Yang Ding: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University
Eser Metin Akinoglu: Freie Universität Berlin
Xueyuan Wu: Boston College
Xin Wang: Electronic Paper Displays Institute, South China Normal University
Xubing Lu: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University
Qianming Wang: School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University
Guofu Zhou: Electronic Paper Displays Institute, South China Normal University
Jun-Ming Liu: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University
Zhifeng Ren: University of Houston
Michael Giersig: Freie Universität Berlin
Andrzej Herczynski: Boston College
Krzysztof Kempa: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University
Jinwei Gao: Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract An ideal network window electrode for photovoltaic applications should provide an optimal surface coverage, a uniform current density into and/or from a substrate, and a minimum of the overall resistance for a given shading ratio. Here we show that metallic networks with quasi-fractal structure provides a near-perfect practical realization of such an ideal electrode. We find that a leaf venation network, which possesses key characteristics of the optimal structure, indeed outperforms other networks. We further show that elements of hierarchal topology, rather than details of the branching geometry, are of primary importance in optimizing the networks, and demonstrate this experimentally on five model artificial hierarchical networks of varied levels of complexity. In addition to these structural effects, networks containing nanowires are shown to acquire transparency exceeding the geometric constraint due to the plasmonic refraction.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12825

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