Surface antireflection properties of GaN nanostructures with various effective refractive index profiles

GaN nanostructures with various effective refractive index profiles (Linear, Cubic, and Quintic functions) were numerically studied as broadband omnidirectional antireflection structures for concentrator photovoltaics by using three-dimensional finite difference time domain (3D-FDTD) method. Effective medium theory was used to design the surface structures corresponding to different refractive index profiles. Surface antireflection properties were calculated and analyzed for incident light with wavelength, polarization and angle dependences. The surface antireflection properties of GaN nanostructures based on six-sided pyramid with both uniform and non-uniform patterns were also investigated. Results indicate a significant dependence of the surface antireflection on the refractive index profiles of surface nanostructures as well as their pattern uniformity. The GaN nanostructures with linear refractive index profile show the best performance to be used as broadband omnidirectional antireflection structures.