An efficient and deterministic photon management using deep subwavelength features

Light trapping and the broadband absorption of the solar radiation are significant to a plethora of absorptionbased photonic devices. Specifically, efficient broadband absorption was recently demonstrated with arrays of subwavelength structures. The current study examines both numerically and experimentally light trapping driven by deep sidewall subwavelength structures (DSSS) in silicon nanopillar (NP) arrays (DSSS arrays). Particularly, the focus is on DSSS geometries that are an inherent outcome of the top-down dry etch approach used in arrays of high aspect ratio NPs due to the periodical operationality of the Bosch dry etch method. similar to 10% enhancement in the broadband absorption of DSSS arrays compared with NP arrays is demonstrated numerically, as well as the generation of near-IR absorptivity peaks of similar to 25% for DSSS arrays. Importantly, it is shown that the introduction of DSSS systematically blue-shifts the absorptivity peaks of the NP arrays and in this manner a deterministic light trapping is possible. Finally, decrements of similar to 40% in direct reflectivity and similar to 7% in diffused reflectivity in DSSS arrays realized on silicon wafers is demonstrated experimentally.