Multiscale transparent electrode architecture for efficient light management and carrier collection in solar cells.

The challenge for all photovoltaic technologies is to maximize light absorption, to convert photons with minimal losses into electric charges, and to efficiently extract them to the electrical circuit. For thin-film solar cells, all these tasks rely heavily on the transparent front electrode. Here we present a multiscale electrode architecture that allows us to achieve efficiencies as high as 14.1% with a thin-film silicon tandem solar cell employing only 3 µm of silicon. Our approach combines the versatility of nanoimprint lithography, the unusually high carrier mobility of hydrogenated indium oxide (over 100 cm(2)/V/s), and the unequaled light-scattering properties of self-textured zinc oxide. A multiscale texture provides light trapping over a broad wavelength range while ensuring an optimum morphology for the growth of high-quality silicon layers. A conductive bilayer stack guarantees carrier extraction while minimizing parasitic absorption losses. The tunability accessible through such multiscale electrode architecture offers unprecedented possibilities to address the trade-off between cell optical and electrical performance.

Quantification of Valleys of Randomly Textured Substrates as a Function of Opening Angle: Correlation to the Defect Density in Intrinsic nc-Si:H.

Optical and electrical properties of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) solar cells are strongly influenced by the morphology of underlying substrates. By texturing the substrates, the photogenerated current of nc-Si:H solar cells can increase due to enhanced light scattering. These textured substrates are, however, often incompatible with defect-less nc-Si:H growth resulting in lower Voc and FF. In this study we investigate the correlation between the substrate morphology, the nc-Si:H solar-cell performance, and the defect density in the intrinsic layer of the solar cells (i-nc-Si:H). Statistical surface parameters representing the substrate morphology do not show a strong correlation with the solar-cell parameters. Thus, we first quantify the line density of potentially defective valleys of randomly textured ZnO substrates where the opening angle is smaller than 130° (ρ<130). This ρ<130 is subsequently compared with the solar-cell performance and the defect density of i-nc-Si:H (ρdefect), which is obtained by fitting external photovoltaic parameters from experimental results and simulations. We confirm that when ρ<130 increases the Voc and FF significantly drops. It is also observed that ρdefect increases following a power law dependence of ρ<130. This result is attributed to more frequently formed defective regions for substrates having higher ρ<130.

Effect of substrate morphology slope distributions on light scattering, nc-Si:H film growth, and solar cell performance.

Thin-film silicon solar cells are often deposited on textured ZnO substrates. The solar-cell performance is strongly correlated to the substrate morphology, as this morphology determines light scattering, defective-region formation, and crystalline growth of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H). Our objective is to gain deeper insight in these correlations using the slope distribution, rms roughness (σ(rms)) and correlation length (lc) of textured substrates. A wide range of surface morphologies was obtained by Ar plasma treatment and wet etching of textured and flat-as-deposited ZnO substrates. The σ(rms), lc and slope distribution were deduced from AFM scans. Especially, the slope distribution of substrates was represented in an efficient way that light scattering and film growth direction can be more directly estimated at the same time. We observed that besides a high σ(rms), a high slope angle is beneficial to obtain high haze and scattering of light at larger angles, resulting in higher short-circuit current density of nc-Si:H solar cells. However, a high slope angle can also promote the creation of defective regions in nc-Si:H films grown on the substrate. It is also found that the crystalline fraction of nc-Si:H solar cells has a stronger correlation with the slope distributions than with σ(rms) of substrates. In this study, we successfully correlate all these observations with the solar-cell performance by using the slope distribution of substrates.

The fidelity of synaptonemal complex assembly is regulated by a signaling mechanism that controls early meiotic progression.

Proper chromosome segregation during meiosis requires the assembly of the synaptonemal complex (SC) between homologous chromosomes. However, the SC structure itself is indifferent to homology, and poorly understood mechanisms that depend on conserved HORMA-domain proteins prevent ectopic SC assembly. Although HORMA-domain proteins are thought to regulate SC assembly as intrinsic components of meiotic chromosomes, here we uncover a key role for nuclear soluble HORMA-domain protein HTP-1 in the quality control of SC assembly. We show that a mutant form of HTP-1 impaired in chromosome loading provides functionality of an HTP-1-dependent checkpoint that delays exit from homology search-competent stages until all homolog pairs are linked by the SC. Bypassing of this regulatory mechanism results in premature meiotic progression and licensing of homology-independent SC assembly. These findings identify nuclear soluble HTP-1 as a regulator of early meiotic progression, suggesting parallels with the mode of action of Mad2 in the spindle assembly checkpoint.