This application claims priority to Chinese Application Serial Number 201410041878.X, filed Jan. 28, 2014, which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an opto-electrical conversion structure.
2. Description of Related Art
Human has growing demands for energy with the advance of technology. Since oil reserves have become shortage in view of the increasing energy requirements of the human, scientists and industry have greatly devoted themselves to the research and development of alternative energy. Among those, solar energy is one of the most desired new energies for the development.
A solar panel absorbs sunlight and converts solar energy of the sunlight into electrical energy. For enhancing the capturing amount of the sunlight, a plurality of micro-and/or nano-structures are generally formed on the incident surface of a solar cell of the solar panel to interfere with reflection on the incident surface of the solar cell. However, the surfaces of the nano-structures are formed so roughness that electron-hole recombination of the carriers generated from the solar cell is high, thereby adversely reducing the short-circuit current (Jsc) and the open-circuit voltage (V) of the solar cell.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide an opto-electrical conversion structure including a substrate, a first semiconductor structure, and a second semiconductor structure. The substrate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other. The first surface has a plurality of micro-structures and a plurality of nano-structures. The nano-structures are distributed on surfaces of the micro-structures, and heights of the nano-structures are about 500 nm to about 900 nm. The first semiconductor structure is disposed on the first surface of the substrate. The second semiconductor structure is disposed on the second surface of the substrate.
In one or more embodiments, each of the micro-structures is pyramid-shaped, recess-shaped, or combination thereof.
In one or more embodiments, a height of each of the micro-structures is about 1 μm to about 20 μm.
In one or more embodiments, the first semiconductor structure is an n-type semiconductor layer, and the second semiconductor structure is a p-type semiconductor layer; or the first semiconductor structure is a p-type semiconductor layer, and the second semiconductor structure is an n-type semiconductor layer.
In one or more embodiments, the first semiconductor structure includes an i-type semiconductor layer and a p-type semiconductor layer. The i-type semiconductor layer is disposed on the first surface of the substrate. The i-type semiconductor layer is disposed between the p-type semiconductor layer and the first surface of the substrate. The second semiconductor structure includes an i-type semiconductor layer and an n+-type semiconductor layer. The i-type semiconductor layer is disposed on the second surface of the substrate. The i-type semiconductor layer is disposed between the n+-type semiconductor layer and the second surface of the substrate.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a solar cell including the opto-electrical conversion structure, a first electrode structure, and a second electrode structure. The first semiconductor structure is disposed between the first electrode structure and the substrate. The second semiconductor structure is disposed between the second electrode structure and the substrate.
In one or more embodiments, the first electrode structure includes a transparent conductive layer and at least one metal electrode. The first semiconductor structure is disposed between the transparent conductive layer and the substrate. A portion of the transparent conductive layer is disposed between the metal electrode and the first semiconductor structure.
In one or more embodiments, the second electrode structure is a metal layer.
In one or more embodiments, the second electrode structure includes a transparent conductive layer and at least one metal electrode. The second semiconductor structure is disposed between the transparent conductive layer and the substrate. A portion of the transparent conductive layer is disposed between the metal electrode and the second semiconductor structure.
In one or more embodiments, the second surface of the substrate of the opto-electrical conversion structure has a plurality of micro-structures. The second electrode structure includes a transparent conductive layer and a metal electrode. The second semiconductor structure is disposed between the transparent conductive layer and the substrate. The metal electrode covers overall the transparent conductive layer.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method of an opto-electrical conversion structure including providing a substrate. A plurality of micro-structures are formed on a first surface of the substrate. The micro-structures are etched to form a plurality of nano-structures on surfaces of the micro-structures. The nano-structures are etched. A first semiconductor structure is formed on the first surface of the substrate. A second semiconductor structure is formed on a second surface of the substrate.
In one or more embodiments, etching the nano-structures includes etching the nano-structures to have heights of the nano-structures of about 500 nm to about 900 nm.
In one or more embodiments, the nano-structures are etched by performing an isotropic wet etching process.
In one or more embodiments, the nano-structures are etched by performing an anisotropic wet etching process.
In one or more embodiments, etching the micro-structures includes forming a plurality of catalysts on the surfaces of the micro-structures. The micro-structures are etched via the catalysts.
In one or more embodiments, etching the nano-structures includes removing the catalysts along with etching the nano-structures.
In one or more embodiments, the catalysts are metal nano-particles.
In one or more embodiments, the micro-structures are etched by performing an anisotropic wet etching process.
In one or more embodiments, forming the micro-structures includes forming a plurality of first micro-structures by performing an isotropic wet etching process.
In one or more embodiments, forming the micro-structures includes forming a plurality of second micro-structures on the first micro-structures by performing an anisotropic wet etching process.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
Reference is made to
Subsequently, the micro-structures 116 are further etched to form a plurality of nano-structures on the surfaces of the micro-structures 116. For example, reference is made to
In one or more embodiments, the catalysts may be made of metals, such as silver. The micro-structures 116 can be etched by performing an anisotropic wet etching process. Due to the anisotropic wet etching process, the etchant etches the micro-structures 116 downward via the catalysts (i.e., the nano-particles 400) to form a plurality of the nano-structures 114.
Reference is made to
In this embodiment, the nano-structures 114 can be etched by performing an isotropic wet etching process or an anisotropic wet etching process. For the isotropic wet etching process, a mixed solution of acid solutions, such as HF solution and HNO3 solution, to be the etchant, and for the anisotropic wet etching process, a mixed solution of alkaline solutions, such as KOH solution and IPA solution, to be the etchant. However, it should be understood that the above-mentioned solutions are illustrative only and should not limit the scope of the claimed invention. A person having ordinary skill in the art may select suitable solutions according to actual requirements.
Reference is made to
Accordingly, the first surface 102 is anti-reflection due to the nano-structures 114′ and the micro-structures 116′ formed on the substrate 110 of the opto-electrical conversion structure 100 of this embodiment. In addition, after the nano-structures 114 are formed, the nano-structures 114 are further etched to form the nano-structures 114′ with the heights T2 in a range between about 500 nm and about 900 nm, thus the surface roughness of the nano-structures 114′ can be reduced to decrease the carrier recombination on the surface of the nano-structures 114′.
As a result, the manufacturing process of the opto-electrical conversion structure 100 is complete. From a structural point of view, the opto-electrical conversion structure 100 includes the substrate 110, the first semiconductor structure 120, and the second semiconductor structure 130. The substrate 110 has the first surface 102 and the second surface 104 opposite to each other. The first surface 102 has a plurality of the micro-structures 116′ and a plurality of the nano-structures 114′. The nano-structures 114′ are distributed on the micro-structures 116′, and heights T2 of the nano-structures 114′ are about 500 nm to about 900 nm. The first semiconductor structure 120 is disposed on the first surface 102 of the substrate 110. The second semiconductor structure 130 is disposed on the second surface 104 of the substrate 110.
In one or more embodiments, the first surface 102 can be a light incident surface of the opto-electrical conversion structure 100, and the second surface 104 can be a backlight surface of the opto-electrical conversion structure 100. However, in other embodiments, both of the first surface 102 and the second surface 104 can be the light incident surfaces of the opto-electrical conversion structure 100. That is, the opto-electrical conversion structure 100 is able to receive incident light from two ways, i.e. both surfaces of the opto-electrical conversion structure 100, and thus the second surface 104 may have the micro-structures 116′. Furthermore, the nano-structures 114′ can be disposed on the micro-structures 116′ of the second surface 104, and the claimed scope is not limited in this respect.
In this embodiment, the micro-structures 116′ can be pyramid-shaped, and heights T3 thereof can be about 1 μm to about 20 μm. Moreover, in this embodiment, the substrate 110 can be p-type semiconductor or n-type semiconductor, the first semiconductor structure 120 can be an n-type semiconductor layer, and the second semiconductor structure 130 can be a p-type semiconductor layer. Preferred, the substrate 110 is p-type semiconductor, the first semiconductor structure 120 is n-type semiconductor layer, and the second semiconductor structure 130 is p-type semiconductor layer, wherein doped concentration of the second semiconductor structure 130 is larger than doped concentration of the substrate 110. However, in other embodiments, the first semiconductor structure 120 can be a p-type semiconductor layer, and the second semiconductor structure 130 can be an n-type semiconductor layer, and the claimed scope is not limited in this respect. For example, the substrate 110 is n-type semiconductor, the first semiconductor structure 120 is p-type semiconductor layer, and the second semiconductor structure 130 is n-type semiconductor layer, wherein doped concentration of the second semiconductor structure 130 is larger than doped concentration of the substrate 110.
Reference is made to
Accordingly, sunlight can be incident solar cell from the surface of the first electrode structure 200. The opto-electrical conversion structure 100 converts sunlight into first charges and second charges, where the first charges can be electrons, and the second charges can be holes, or vise versa. The first charges can flow to the first electrode structure 200 from the first semiconductor structure 120, and the second charges can flow to the second electrode structure 300 from the second semiconductor structure 130.
In this embodiment, the first electrode structure 200 can include a transparent conductive layer 210 and at least one metal electrode 220. The transparent conductive layer 210 is formed on the surface of the first semiconductor structure 120, thus the first semiconductor structure 120 is disposed between the transparent conductive layer 210 and the substrate 110. The metal electrode 220 is formed on the surface of the transparent conductive layer 210, thus a portion of the transparent conductive layer 210 is disposed between the metal electrode 220 and the first semiconductor structure 120. The transparent conductive layer 210 can be made from tin doped indium oxide (ITO), tin oxide (SnO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO), gallium doped zinc oxide (AZO), indium doped zinc oxide (IZO), or any combination thereof. The metal electrode 220 may be made from titanium, silver, aluminum, copper, or any combination thereof. Moreover, the second electrode structure 300 of the present embodiment can be a metal layer, which may be made from titanium, silver, aluminum, copper, or any combination thereof.
Reference is made to
Accordingly, the sunlight can be incident the solar cell from the first electrode structure 200, and the opto-electrical conversion structure 100 can convert the sunlight into electrons and holes. The holes can sequentially pass through the i-type semiconductor layer 122 and the p-type semiconductor layer 124 to the first electrode structure 200. The electrons can sequentially pass through the i-type semiconductor layer 132 and the n+-type semiconductor layer 134 to the second electrode structure 300.
Moreover, the second electrode structure 300 of the present embodiment can include a transparent conductive layer 310 and at least one metal electrode 320. The transparent conductive layer 310 is formed on the surface of the second semiconductor structure 130, such that the second semiconductor structure 130 is disposed between the transparent conductive layer 310 and the substrate 110. The metal electrode 320 is formed on the surface of the transparent conductive layer 310, such that a portion of the transparent conductive layer 310 is disposed between the metal electrode 320 and the second semiconductor structure 130. Other relevant structural details of the present embodiment are all the same as the embodiment of
Reference is made to
The following paragraphs provide simulation examples with respect to the efficiency of the solar cell mentioned above.
In
Moreover, in
Reference is made to
Reference is made to
Subsequently, the second micro-structures 119 are further etched to form a plurality of nano-structures on the surfaces of the second micro-structures 119. For example, reference is made to
In one or more embodiments, the catalysts may be made of metals, such as silver. The second micro-structures 119 can be etched by performing an anisotropic wet etching process. Due to the anisotropic wet etching process, the etchant etches the second micro-structures 119 downward via the nano-particles 400 to form a plurality of the nano-structures 114.
Reference is made to
Reference is made to
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201410041878.X | Jan 2014 | CN | national |