Mesoporous silica nanocomposite antireflective coating for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells

• Single layer anti-reflective coating applied to CIGS solar cell using simple wet deposition technique.
• Nanoparticle layer conforms to the underlying structure of the ZnO:Al.
• Short circuit current was also increased on average by 4.9%. and the EQE below 1000 nm has been increased.
• Improvement in short circuit current which is on par with that of current vacuum ARC technology.

A single layer anti-reflective (AR) mesoporous silica nanoparticles coating on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin film solar cells has been fabricated. Unlike traditional vacuum deposited AR coatings, this nanoparticle coating is applied using simple wet deposition techniques. In this study we investigate the structural properties and anti-reflection effects of the nanoparticle coating on the CIGS solar cell. The reduction in reflection and increase in the short circuit current shows the potential of this nanoparticle coating to compete with current technology.

We demonstrate the low temperature wet deposition of single layer anti-reflective coatings comprising of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in a silica binder onto a CIGS thin film solar cell. Reduction in reflection and increase in solar cell efficiency are comparable with current vacuum deposited anti-reflective technologies.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide