Materials Used for Thin Film Anti-

Reflection Coatings (ARCs) in Solar Cells

Team 17

Submitted to:
Prof. Sylvain Coulombe

Presented by:
Razan Khrais (260614594)
Rafay Salahuddin (260612029)
Zohaib Hassan (2060584539)
Muhammed Tariq (260567978)

CHEE 401: Energy Systems Engineering

Department of Chemical Engineering
McGill University

April 4, 2018
Device and Material Selection TEAM 17

Materials Used in Thin Film ARCs

Anti-reflective coatings (ARCs) on solar panels increase the amount of light that is transmitted, thereby
increasing conversion efficiencies of amorphous silicon solar photovoltaic cells.1 In this case study, a life
cycle analysis will be performed on three alternative materials used as thin film anti-reflective coatings in
solar cells. The functional unit used in the life cycle analysis is the amount of anti-reflection coating needed
to allow 80% of the incoming light to pass through. One of the ‘traditional’ coatings used in industry since
the mid 1980’s is titanium dioxide (TiO2), which has demonstrated a 20-54% improvements in the
conversion efficiency of the solar cells.2 In 2002, a new form of coating was introduced which uses silicon
nitride (Si3N4). Silicon nitride has a lower refractive index than TiO2, increasing the transmittance of light
to the solar cells.3 Another advantage of silicon nitride is its higher degree of thermal stability than its
predecessor.4 In 2014, a novel coating material known as ‘black aluminum’ was introduced. It is made up
of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) and is known as the most light-absorbing material ever created.5
It has demonstrated up to 95% absorption of incoming light, providing a promising opportunity for solar
cells.6

2
Device and Material Selection TEAM 17

References
1. Chou, T. (2008). Enhanced light-conversion efficiency of titanium-dioxide dye-sensitized solar cells
with the addition of indium-tin-oxide and fluorine-tin-oxide nanoparticles in electrode films. Journal
of Nanophotonics, [online] 2(1), p.023511.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228403023_Enhanced_light-
conversion_efficiency_of_titanium-dioxide_dye-
sensitized_solar_cells_with_the_addition_of_indium-tin-oxide_and_fluorine-tin-
oxide_nanoparticles_in_electrode_fi1lms.
2. Refractiveindex.info. (2018). Refractive index of TiO2 (Titanium dioxide) - Kischkat. Available at:
https://refractiveindex.info/?shelf=main&book=TiO2&page=Kischkat.
3. Filmetrics, I. (2018). Refractive Index of Si3N4, Silicon Nitride, SiN, SiON for Thin Film Thickness
Measurement. [online] Filmetrics.com. Available at: https://www.filmetrics.com/refractive-index-
database/Si3N4/Silicon-Nitride-SiN.
4. MITCHELL, D. and STOTT, F. (2010). ChemInform Abstract: Oxidation of Titanium Nitride- and
Silicon Nitride-Coated Stainless Steel in Carbon Dioxide Environments. ChemInform, [online] 23(38),
p.no-no. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0010938X9290163W.
5. Mmsonline.com. (2018). Getting To Know “Black Aluminum”. [online] Available at:
https://www.mmsonline.com/articles/getting-to-know-black-aluminum.
6. Ieeexplore.ieee.org. (2018). Black Aluminum: a novel anti-reflective absorbing coating - IEEE
Conference Publication.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/icp.jsp?arnumber=7045780&tag=1.