Broadband Anti-Reflective Structure with Mesoporous Silica of Low Refractive Index in Si Solar Panels

Mesoporus silica dielectrics, which revealed low refractive index (n~1.26), were introduced together with Si
₃
N
₄
layers to be double-layer-based graded-refractive-index anti- reflectors for silicon solar-cells. Enhanced solar-light transmission increased conversion efficiency of Si solar panels by 4%. The degradation in photovoltaic efficiency of solar panels that were covered with Si
₃
N
₄
/MS anti-reflectors was as small as 0.54 % after 60 hours of irradiation. MS films revealed wide band-gap of 6.4 eV and, therefore, negligible absorption in the solar spectrum, in response to highly stable photovoltaic efficiency during long-term irradiation.