High-efficiency ultra-thin GaAs solar cells based on ITO/Ag/ITO transparent electrodes and photonic crystals

Abstract

Ultrathin photovoltaic technology has great potential to improve efficiency and reduce costs. However, achieving optical thickness requires an effective light capture strategy. In this study, for GaAs thin film solar cells with an active layer thickness of 500 nm, we adopt a combination strategy of front-end ITO/Ag/ITO transparent electrodes and back-end photonic crystals (PC). By employing the finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation, we verify that ITO/Ag/ITO transparent electrodes and AlGaAs PC can effectively enhance the light-harvesting capacity of cells. The proposed cell structure has a spectral absorption rate (SAR) of 0.9781 in the visible wavelength range. To further optimize the photovoltaic performance parameters, we optimize the doping concentration of the pn junction in the cell. Finally, the short circuit current density J s c , open circuit voltage V o c , fill factor (FF) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of GaAs thin film solar cells are successfully increased to 31.10 mA cm − 2 , 1.28 V , 88.18% and 35.12%, respectively. This provides crucial experimental validation and theoretical guidance for advancing ultra-thin photovoltaic technology.