Simultaneous Design and Nanomanufacturing Speeds Up Fabrication
Friday, August 4, 2017 - 15:42
in Physics & Chemistry
An interdisciplinary team of Northwestern University researchers has used mathematics and machine learning to design an optimal material for light management in solar cells and then fabricated the nanostructured surfaces simultaneously with a new nanomanufacturing technique. The researchers fabricated 3-D photonic nanostructures on a silicon wafer for potential use as a solar cell. The resulting inexpensive material absorbed 160 percent more light in the 800- to 1,200-nanometer wavelength -- a range in which current solar cells are inefficient -- than other designs.