Regensburg 2016 – scientific programme
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DF: Fachverband Dielektrische Festkörper
DF 11: Poster
DF 11.5: Poster
Wednesday, March 9, 2016, 18:00–20:00, Poster E
Bio-inspired hierarchical structures for enhanced light harvesting in solar cells — •Raphael Schmager1,2, Ruben Hünig2, Guillaume Gomard2,3, Benjamin Fritz1,2, Gerald Göring1, Hendrik Hölscher3, Heinz Kalt1, Michael Powalla2,4, and Michael Hetterich1 — 1Institute of Applied Physics, KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany — 2Light Technology Institute, KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany — 3Institute of Microstructure Technology, KIT, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany — 4Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, Germany
Leaves and petals are shaped to fulfill multiple functionalities, in particular their interaction with light. In this context the surface morphology of rose petals has been reported to be beneficial for producing highly saturated colors, thus increasing the pollination success of those flowers. This morphology consists of disordered micro-cones adorned by nano-scale wrinkles. While previous studies have demonstrated that the larger features act as micro-lenses which focus the incoming light, the specific role and impact of the nano-structures on the global optical properties require further investigations. In our contribution, the topography of this hierarchical surface has first been probed by SEM and AFM, and then modeled in an optical software to study the anti-reflection and scattering properties of the nano-structures in the wave optics regime. We show that understanding the interplay between those micro-and nano photonic structures will enable the design of efficient light harvesting surfaces for solar cells since the latter are also targeting broadband and omnidirectional operation conditions.