Nanosolar, Inc.

Klaus Petritsch

Brian M Sager

Martin R Roscheisen

Jacqueline A Fidanza

Dong Yu

Gregory A Miller

Matthew R Robinson

Brent Bollman

Greg Smestad

An optoelectronic apparatus, a method for making the apparatus, and the use of the apparatus in an optoelectronic device are disclosed. The apparatus may include an active layer having a nanostructured network layer with a network of regularly spaced structures with spaces between neighboring structures. One or more network-filling materials are disposed in the spaces. At least one of the network-filling materials has complementary charge transfer properties with respect to the nanostructured network layer. An interfacial layer, configured to enhance an efficiency of the active layer, is disposed between the nanostructured network layer and the network-filling materials. The interfacial layer may be configured to provide (a) charge transfer between the two materials that exhibits different rates for forward versus backward transport; (b) differential light absorption to extend a range of wavelengths that the active layer can absorb; or (c) enhanced light absorption, which may be coupled with charge injection.

Interfacial architecture for nanostructured optoelectronic devices

Inter facial architecture for nanostructured optoelectronic devices

Charge-splitting networks, optoelectronic devices, methods for making optoelectronic devices, power generation systems utilizing such devices and method for making charge-splitting networks are disclosed. An optoelectronic device may include a porous nano-architected (e.g., surfactant-templated) film having interconnected pores that are accessible from both the underlying and overlying layers. A pore-filling material substantially fills the pores. The interconnected pores have diameters of about 1-100 nm and are distributed in a substantially uniform fashion with neighboring pores separated by a distance of about 1-100 nm. The nano-architected porous film and the pore-filling, material have complementary charge-transfer properties with respect to each other, i.e., one is an electron-acceptor and the other is a hole-acceptor. The nano-architected porous, film may be formed on a substrate by a surfactant temptation technique such as evaporation-induced self-assembly. A solar power generation system may include an array of such optoelectronic devices in the form of photovoltaic cells with one or more cells in the array having one or more porous charge-splitting networks disposed between an electron-accepting electrode and a hole-accepting electrode.

Optoelectronic device and fabrication method

Charge splitting networks for optoelectronic devices may be fabricated using a nanostructured porous film, e.g., of SiO, as a template. The porous film may be fabricated using surfactant temptation techniques. Any of a variety of semiconducting materials including semiconducting metals and metal oxides (such as TiO, CdSe, CdS, CdTe, or CuO) may be deposited into the pores of the porous template film. After deposition, the template film may be removed by controlled exposure to acid or base without disrupting the semiconducting material leaving behind a nanoscale network grid. Spaces in the network grid can then be filled with complementary semiconducting material, e.g., a semiconducting polymer or dye to create a exciton-splitting and charge transporting network with superior optoelectronic properties for an optoelectronic devices, particularly photovoltaic devices.

Molding technique for fabrication of optoelectronic devices

Methods and apparatus for the rapid and parallel synthesis of optoelectronic cell devices and for the high-throughput screening of such devices for useful properties are disclosed. The methods comprise the parallel synthesis of arrays of optoelectronic devices fabricated within an addressable sample-holding matrix. Each optoelectronic device is created and tested within an addressable sample-holder in the fabrication device.

Combinatorial fabrication and high-throughput screening of optoelectronic devices

Spaces in a nanostructure can be filled with an organic material while in the solid state below T(without heating) by exposing the organic material to solvent vapor while on or mixed with the nanostructured material. The exposure to solvent vapor results in intimate contact between the organic material and the nanostructured material without having to expose them to possibly detrimental heat to melt in the organic material. Solution processing methods need only to be employed to create bulk films while organic material infiltration can take place in the solid state after depositing the film.

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Foster City, CA, United States of America

Klaus Petritsch