Gao, Tongchuan
(2017)
Transparent Conductors Based on Microscale/Nanoscale Materials for High Performance Devices.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
This is the latest version of this item.
Abstract
Transparent conductors are important as the top electrode for a variety of optoelectronic devices, including solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), flat panel displays, and touch screens. Doped indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films are the predominant transparent conductor material. However, ITO thin films are brittle, making them unsuitable for the emerging flexible devices, and suffer from high material and processing cost. In my thesis, we developed a variety of transparent conductors toward a performance comparable with or superior to ITO thin films, with lower cost and potential for scalable manufacturing. Metal nanomesh (NM), hierarchical graphene/metal microgrid (MG), and hierarchical metal NM/MG materials were investigated. Simulation methods were used as a powerful tool to predict the transparency and sheet resistance of the transparent conductors by solving Maxwell’s equations and Poisson’s equation. Affordable and scalable fabrication processes were developed thereafter. Transparent conductors with over 90% transparency and less than 10 Ω/square sheet resistance were successfully fabricated on both rigid and flexible substrates. Durability tests, such as bending, heating and tape tests, were carried out to evaluate the robustness of the samples. Haze factor, which characterizes how blurry a transparent conductor appears, was also studied in-depth using analytical calculation and numerical simulation. We demonstrated a tunable haze factor for metal NM transparent conductors and analyzed the principle for tuning the haze factor. Plasmonic effects, excited by some transparent conductors, can lead to enhanced performance in photovoltaic devices. We systematically studied the effect of incorporating metal NM into ultrathin film silicon solar cells using numerical simulation, with the aid of optimization algorithms to reduce the optimization time. Mechanisms contributing to the enhanced performance were then identified and analyzed. Over 72% enhancement in short-circuit current-density was demonstrated by the optimal solar cell compared with 300-nm-thick Si solar cell with antireflection coating and silver back reflector.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
1 February 2017 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
31 August 2016 |
| Approval Date: |
1 February 2017 |
| Submission Date: |
3 September 2016 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
131 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Swanson School of Engineering > Industrial Engineering |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
transparent conductors, solar cells, photovoltaics, nanomaterials, graphene |
| Date Deposited: |
01 Feb 2017 20:27 |
| Last Modified: |
02 Feb 2017 06:15 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/30035 |
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Transparent Conductors Based on Microscale/Nanoscale Materials for High Performance Devices. (deposited 01 Feb 2017 20:27)
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