M. Kowalski, R. Milan, and S. Azadi
Community College of Philadelphia,
United States
Keywords: energy harvesting, energy storage
Summary:
As interest in solar energy increases, scientists study space-borne energy harvesting devices. To meet the demands of space exploration, these devices must be both lightweight and capable of absorbing energy across the visible spectrum. This work presents a hexagonal trilayer stack with aluminum, aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), and aluminum film coated with copper (II) oxide (CuO). The fabrication process utilized lithography, deep reactive ion etching (DRIE), and deposition techniques. Studies have shown that CuO has high absorbance over the visible spectrum due to its 1.48 eV bandgap, and the hexagonal structure offers greater structural strength. Our results indicate that the fabricated film has an area density of 5.37 g/m², suggesting potential for lightweight energy harvesting systems. However, challenges like film curling due to residual stresses and the etched trilayer stack create new challenges for studying a new type of back reflector and conducting further analysis using EDS, Raman Spectroscopy, and FTIR.