Enhanced absorption of thin-film photovoltaic cells using an optical cavity

Weinstein, Lee A.; Hsu, Wen-Jing; Yerci, Selçuk; Boriskina, Svetlana V.; Chen, Gang

doi:10.1088/2040-8978/17/5/055901

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…1(a), is chosen in this study to act as a 2D analog of inverted nanopyramids or nanocones, which was shown in previous studies to exhibit good light-trapping performance. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][27][28] By using this grating design, it is possible to apply well-established grating theory to better understand the underlying mechanisms and find a design rule to govern light trapping.…”

Section: Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

“…16,[18][19][20] Additionally, recent studies have shown that triangular, pyramidal, or conical gratings exhibit higher absorption due to the impedance match from air to silicon. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]28,30,39 To improve light trapping even further, the inclusion of a back grating structure has been studied as a means to better scatter near-infrared light into guided resonances. [12][13][14]17,[27][28]33 By combining a front and back grating, recent studies have demonstrated enhancement to light trapping that outperforms absorbers that are textured only on one side.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mismatched front and back gratings for optimum light trapping in ultra-thin crystalline silicon solar cells

Hsu

Tong

Branham

et al. 2016

Optics Communications

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The implementation of a front and back grating in ultra-thin photovoltaic cells is a promising approach towards improving light trapping. A simple design rule was developed using the least common multiple (LCM) of the front and back grating periods. From this design rule, several optimal period combinations can be found, providing greater design flexibility for absorbers of indirect band gap materials. Using numerical simulations, the photo-generated current (J ph) for a 10-μm-thick crystalline silicon absorber was predicted to be as high as 38 mA/cm 2 , which is 11.74% higher than that of a single front grating (J ph =34 mA/cm 2).

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Section: Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mismatched front and back gratings for optimum light trapping in ultra-thin crystalline silicon solar cells

Hsu

Tong

Branham

et al. 2016

Optics Communications

Self Cite

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“…However, it is to be noted that the absorption peak is overbeating Yablonovitch limit near the band gap region in SPP waveguide configuration, which might be due to the strong light enhancement. It has been reported that the effective absorption in a thin-film solar cell can exceed the conventional limits with an efficient light trapping and enhancement structures [27,28] Since the proposed structure is periodic in X direction and infinitely long in the Y direction, plasmonic modes are not excited by a transverse electric (TE) polarized illumination.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Plasmon Polariton-coupled Waveguide Back Reflector in Thin-film Silicon Solar Cell

Prabhathan

Murukeshan

2015

Plasmonics

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Surface plasmon polariton (SPP) waveguidecoupled back reflector geometry is proposed for efficient light trapping and broadband absorption enhancement in thin-film silicon solar cells. The proposed geometry takes advantage of the localized surface plasmon (LSP) enhancement, FabryPerot (FP) resonance, and strong electric field confinement resulting from the SPP interference in a metal waveguide. It is shown that the designed light trapping structures contribute to significant light trapping and enhancement in the red to near-infrared part of the solar spectrum. For a thin-film silicon solar cell of 220-nm thickness, an absorption enhancement of 153 % is obtained when compared to a bare silicon solar cell. In comparison to other SPP-excited back reflection geometries, such as nano-gratings and nano-grooves, the proposed configuration shows a higher absorption enhancement factor and uniform field distribution inside the silicon layer. These results are expected to introduce new directions in the design of optimized nanoscale back reflectors in thin-film silicon solar cells.

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“…Mode-coupling theory has been used to suggest that conventional limits can be surpassed in nano-photonic structures [20]. External cavities have also been proposed [21] in this context. Through experimental measurements guided by rigorous numerical solution of Maxwell's equations, Kuang et.…”

Section: 43%mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards 30% Power Conversion Efficiency in Thin-Silicon Photonic-Crystal Solar Cells

et al. 2019

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By direct numerical solution of Maxwell's equations and the semiconductor drift-diffusion equations, we demonstrate solar power conversion efficiencies in the 29%−30% range in crystalline-silicon photonic-crystal solar cells. These 3 − 12 µm thick photonic crystals, consisting of wavelength-scale inverted-pyramid arrays, absorb sunlight considerably in excess of the Lambertian limit due to wave-interference based light-trapping. It is suggested that the resulting optimized balance between bulk-Auger recombination and solar absorption occurs for a silicon thickness of 10 µm, in contrast to previous estimates of over 100 µm. Optimized n + pp + doping profiles involving low p−doping throughout most of the bulk and thin n + and p + −doping at the emitter and base regions yield ideal electronic response. For solar absorption restricted to the 300 − 1100 nm range, we obtain a short circuit current of 42.5 mA/cm 2 , an open circuit voltage of nearly 0.8 V and a fill-factor of about 87%, provided that the surface recombination velocities are below 100 cm/s. Including solar absorption in the 1100 − 1200 nm range through electronic bandgap narrowing and the Urbach optical absorption edge, our wave-interference-based light-trapping enables an additional photo-current density of 1.09 mA/cm 2 for an overall power conversion efficiency of 30%. It is shown that under solar concentration by factors of 20 and 150, the power conversion efficiencies are enhanced to 32.5% and 33.5%, respectively.

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Enhanced absorption of thin-film photovoltaic cells using an optical cavity

Cited by 26 publications

References 27 publications

Mismatched front and back gratings for optimum light trapping in ultra-thin crystalline silicon solar cells

Mismatched front and back gratings for optimum light trapping in ultra-thin crystalline silicon solar cells

Surface Plasmon Polariton-coupled Waveguide Back Reflector in Thin-film Silicon Solar Cell

Towards 30% Power Conversion Efficiency in Thin-Silicon Photonic-Crystal Solar Cells

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