Dielectric metasurfaces for light management in photovoltaics

In this thesis we develop dielectric nanostructures to create tailored colorful appearance of solar cells and show how similar structures can increase the efficiency in tandem cells. For this, we design layers composed of dielectric nanoparticles that show strong light scattering in the visible spectral range. In particular, we develop dielectric metasurfaces and combined (gradient) metagratings that enable the control of spectrum and directivity of scattered light. In the first part of the thesis, we present novel ways to realize coloration of PV (Chapter 2-5), and design metasurfaces with tailored spectral and angular control of light (Chapter 4, 6). In the second part of the thesis, we theoretically and experimentally develop metasurface spectral splitters to improve the performance of two-terminal and four-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells (Chapter 7, 8). Overall, this thesis provides novel solutions based on nanophotonic light scattering to create colored PV and tandem solar cells with enhanced efficiency. It employs control over the scattering properties of resonant dielectric nanoscatterers and metasurfaces to create desired scattering distributions that are tailored in angular and spectral range. The metagrating concepts for photovoltaics developed in this thesis can be applied on a wide range of solar cells and can be scaled up to practical large-area fabrication technologies.