Aspects of silicon photonics process technologies intended for high volume production in a traditional silicon electronics-driven foundry environment are discussed. Both technological and economical challenges associated with this juxtaposition of a complex, non-standard process technology, inside of a factory geared for producing thousands of standardized electronics-based wafers per month, are described in detail.

Silver nanowires in conjunction with sputter-coated Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films were used as a composite transparent top electrode for hybrid radial-junction ZnO nanowire/a-Si:H p-i-n thin-film solar cells. Solar cells with the composite nanowire top contacts attained a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 13.9 mA/cm2 and a fill factor (FF) of 62% on glass substrates while a Jsc of 13.0 mA/cm2 and FF of 62% was achieved on plastic substrates. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the 3-dimensional solar cells improved by up to 60% compared to using AZO electrodes alone due to enhanced coverage of the top electrode over the 3-D structures, decreasing the series resistance of the device by 5×. The composite layer also showed a 10× reduction in sheet resistance compared to the AZO thin-film contact under applied mechanical strain.

We experimentally demonstrate a new optical platform by integrating hydrogenated amorphous silicon nanowire arrays with thin films deposited on transparent substrates like glass. A 535 nm thick thin film is anisotropically etched to fabricate vertical nanowire arrays of 100 nm diameter arranged in a square lattice. Adjusting the nanowire length, and consequently the thin film thickness permits the optical properties of this configuration to be tuned for either transmission filter response or enhanced broadband absorption. Vivid structural colors are also achieved in reflection and transmission. The optical properties of the platform are investigated for three different etch depths. Transmission filter response is achieved for a configuration with nanowires on glass without any thin film. Alternatively, integrating thin film with nanowires increases the absorption efficiency by ∼97% compared to the thin film starting layer and by ∼78% over nanowires on glass. The ability to tune the optical response of this material in this fashion makes it a promising platform for high performance photovoltaics, photodetectors and sensors.

A versatile platform by integrating amorphous silicon nanowires on amorphous silicon thin films grown is demonstrated. The platform allows one to tailor the absorption profile from tunable filters to broadband absorption while creating structural colors.

Disordered 3-D hybrid ZnO nanowire/a-Si:H thin-film radial-junction solar cells are directly fabricated onto flexible substrates. A 41% reduction in optical reflectivity resulted in a 15% increase in the current density when the substrate is mechanically bent concave-up toward the incoming light. The light scattering of the nanowire devices was enhanced by decreasing the spacing between the nanowire solar cell by bending the substrate.

Hydrothermally synthesized disordered ZnO nanowires were conformally coated with a-Si:H thin-films to fabricate three dimensional hybrid nanowire/thin-film structures. The a-Si:H layer formed a radial junction p-i-n diode solar cell around the ZnO nanowire. The cylindrical hybrid solar cells enhanced light scattering throughout the UV-visible-NIR spectrum (300 nm–800 nm) resulting in a 22% increase in short-circuit current density compared to the reference planar p-i-n device. A fill factor of 69% and a total power conversion efficiency of 6.5% were achieved with the hybrid nanowire solar cells using a spin-on indium tin oxide nanoparticle suspension as the top contact.

The electrical stability of flexible a-Si:H thin-film transistors (TFT) under mechanical bending is given. The electrical stability was found to be dependent on the strain state of the applied bending during dc-gate bias of the TFT. The heterogeneous integration of hybrid thin-film/nanowire structures on polyeth ylene napthalate substrates is also described. The a-Si:H coated nanowires were found to h ave approximately half of the optical reflectivity due to light scattering of the 3-D hybrid structures compared to planar thin films.

The optics of core / shell nanowire solar cells was investigated. The optical wave propagation was studied by finite difference time domain simulations using realistic interface morphologies. The interface morphologies were determined by a 3D surface coverage algorithm, which provides a realistic film formation of amorphous silicon films on zinc oxide nanowire arrays. The influence of the nanowire dimensions on the interface morphology and light trapping was investigated and optimal dimensions of the zinc oxide nanowire were derived.

Abstract-This work reports an integration process for hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film transistor (TFT) backplanes on flexible plastic substrates that attempts to reduce the large misalignment between the successive patterned layers in fabrication. Here, a double-sided adhesive tape is used to attach the plastic substrate to a rigid carrier. The results indicate a reduction of overlay misalignment from 22 μm on free-standing foil to 2 μm when laminated to a rigid carrier for five consecutive mask layers. Electrical characteristics of the fabricated a-Si:H TFTs on 3" round plastic substrates show an ON/OFF current ratio of over 108, field-effect mobility of 0.8 cm2/V · s, and gate leakage current of 10-13 A.