Investigations on laser-assisted interference-based rapid texturing of flexible polyimide substrate for photovoltaics applications

Abstract

In this article, we demonstrate an elementary method for developing the long length periodic morphology using direct interaction of laser line beam (LLB) on polymeric substrate. The LLB is obtained by projecting the interference generated by employing hollow cylindrical lens. The interference is produced because of a failure of total internal reflection. Therefore, the projection of interferences on plane (normal to the center of lens) substantiates three distinct zones into the linearly formed trench by LLB on the substrate. The profile of impacted LLB is found on the flat top of dimension; length 50,000 μm and width 0.2 μm. The resulting pattern in the effective zone projected upon the substrate increases light absorption by 100% in the ultraviolet and visible range; compared to a pristine substrate. Moreover, the experimental system development takes three different aspects into account to integrate the LLB processing interaction with material, such as surface response of substrate, temperature dependent substrate properties, and its phase phase transformation. Therefore, the stable characteristics of processed material relate the productivity of the texturing, time consumption and laser rastering speed. Thus, LLB texturing has a competent potential for a wide variety of applications, especially in textured flexible solar photovoltaics. © 2018 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.