Methods for manufacturing three-dimensional metamaterial devices with photovoltaic bristles

Abstract

Various stamping methods may reduce defects and increase throughput for manufacturing metamaterial devices. Metamaterial devices with an array of photovoltaic bristles, and/or vias, may enable each photovoltaic bristle to have a high probability of photon absorption. The high probability of photon absorption may lead to increased efficiency and more power generation from an array of photovoltaic bristles. Reduced defects in the metamaterial device may decrease manufacturing cost, increase reliability of the metamaterial device, and increase the probability of photon absorption for a metamaterial device. The increase in manufacturing throughput and reduced defects may reduce manufacturing costs to enable the embodiment metamaterial devices to reach grid parity.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for manufacturing a metamaterial, comprising:
 creating a daughter template on a web from an original master template; and   imprinting a pattern from the daughter template on a moldable material positioned on a substrate using a web-to-plate printing process.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pattern is an array of cores. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pattern is an array of vias. 
     
     
         4 . A system for manufacturing a solar array, comprising:
 a roll-to-web subsystem configured to transfer a first pattern from a master die to a daughter die on a web;   a daughter die; and   a web-to-plate subsystem configured to imprint the daughter die onto a substrate to generate a pattern of micron-sized structures on the substrate suitable for forming a metamaterial structure of photovoltaically active bristles.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the pattern of micron-sized structures on the substrate comprises an array of cores on the substrate. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the pattern of micron-sized structures on the substrate comprises an array of vias on the substrate.