Enhancement of light trapping in thin-film hydrogenated microcrystalline Si solar cells using back reflectors with self-ordered dimple pattern

2008 ◽  
Vol 93 (14) ◽  
pp. 143501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hitoshi Sai ◽  
Hiroyuki Fujiwara ◽  
Michio Kondo ◽  
Yoshiaki Kanamori
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Back Reflectors

Light trapping efficiency of periodic and quasiperiodic back-reflectors for thin film solar cells: A comparative study

2013 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 063103 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Micco ◽  
A. Ricciardi ◽  
M. Pisco ◽  
V. La Ferrara ◽  
L. V. Mercaldo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Trapping Efficiency ◽  
Back Reflectors

Light trapping characteristics of glass substrate with hemisphere pit arrays in thin film Si solar cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 040202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Chen ◽  
Qing-Kang Wang ◽  
Pei-Hua Wangyang ◽  
Kun Huang ◽  
Xiang-Qian Shen
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Glass Substrate ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Si Solar Cells

Light Trapping by Ag Nanoparticles Chemically Assembled inside Thin-Film Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Si Solar Cells

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (4R) ◽  
pp. 042302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidenori Mizuno ◽  
Hitoshi Sai ◽  
Koji Matsubara ◽  
Michio Kondo
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Ag Nanoparticles ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Si Solar Cells

Light-trapping in Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells with a Combination of Periodic and Randomly Textured Back-reflectors

2012 ◽  
Vol 1426 ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sambit Pattnaik ◽  
Nayan Chakravarty ◽  
Rana Biswas ◽  
D. Slafer ◽  
Vikram Dalal
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Absorption ◽  
Nanoimprint Lithography ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Long Wavelength ◽  
Thin Film Silicon ◽  
Back Reflectors ◽  
Back Reflector

ABSTRACTLight trapping is essential to harvest long wavelength red and near-infrared photons in thin film silicon solar cells. Traditionally light trapping has been achieved with a randomly roughened Ag/ZnO back reflector, which scatters incoming light uniformly through all angles, and enhances currents and cell efficiencies over a flat back reflector. A new approach using periodically textured photonic-plasmonic arrays has been recently shown to be very promising for harvesting long wavelength photons, through diffraction of light and plasmonic light concentration. Here we investigate the combination of these two approaches of random scattering and plasmonic effects to increase cell performance even further. An array of periodic conical back reflectors was fabricated by nanoimprint lithography and coated with Ag. These back reflectors were systematically annealed to generate different amounts of random texture, at smaller spatial scales, superimposed on a larger scale periodic texture. nc-Si solar cells were grown on flat, periodic photonic-plasmonic substrates, and randomly roughened photonic-plasmonic substrates. There were large improvements (>20%) in the current and light absorption of the photonic-plasmonic substrates relative to flat. The additional random features introduced on the photonic-plasmonic substrates did not improve the current and light absorption further, over a large range of randomization features.

Numerical simulation of plasmonic light trapping in thin-film Si solar cells: surface coverage effect

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (27) ◽  
pp. 275101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alok Ji ◽  
Richa Sharma ◽  
Hardik Pathak ◽  
Nilesh Kumar Pathak ◽  
R P Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Surface Coverage ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Si Solar Cells

scholarly journals Broadband photocurrent enhancement and light-trapping in thin film Si solar cells with periodic Al nanoparticle arrays on the front

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. A525 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Uhrenfeldt ◽  
T. F. Villesen ◽  
A. Têtu ◽  
B. Johansen ◽  
A. Nylandsted Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Nanoparticle Arrays ◽  
Si Solar Cells

scholarly journals Wet-Chemical Surface Texturing of Sputter-Deposited ZnO:Al Films as Front Electrode for Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Yan ◽  
Selvaraj Venkataraj ◽  
Armin G. Aberle
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Surface Texturing ◽  
Soda Lime ◽  
Photon Absorption ◽  
Soda Lime Glass ◽  
Angle Distribution ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Thin Film Silicon

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) play a major role as the front electrodes of thin-film silicon (Si) solar cells, as they can provide optical scattering and hence improved photon absorption inside the devices. In this paper we report on the surface texturing of aluminium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al or AZO) films for improved light trapping in thin-film Si solar cells. The AZO films are deposited onto soda-lime glass sheets via pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. Several promising AZO texturing methods are investigated using diluted hydrochloric (HCl) and hydrofluoric acid (HF), through a two-step etching process. The developed texturing procedure combines the advantages of the HCl-induced craters and the smaller and jagged—but laterally more uniform—features created by HF etching. In the two-step process, the second etching step further enhances the optical haze, while simultaneously improving the uniformity of the texture features created by the HCl etch. The resulting AZO films show large haze values of above 40%, good scattering into large angles, and a surface angle distribution that is centred at around 30°, which is known from the literature to provide efficient light trapping for thin-film Si solar cells.

Photonic and plasmonic crystal based enhancement of solar cells- overcoming the Lambertian classical 4n2 limit

2012 ◽  
Vol 1426 ◽  
pp. 137-147
Author(s):  
Rana Biswas ◽  
Chun Xu ◽  
Sambit Pattnaik ◽  
Joydeep Bhattacharya ◽  
Nayan Chakravarty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Infrared Region ◽  
Plasmonic Crystal ◽  
Device Architecture ◽  
Back Reflectors ◽  
Trapping Methods ◽  
Normal Light

ABSTRACTLong wavelength photons in the red and near infrared region of the spectrum are poorly absorbed in thin film silicon cells, due to their long absorption lengths. Advanced light trapping methods are necessary to harvest these photons. The basic physical mechanisms underlying the enhanced light trapping in thin film solar cells using periodic back reflectors include strong diffraction coupled with light concentration. These will be contrasted with the scattering mechanisms involved in randomly textured back reflectors, which are commonly used for light trapping. A special class of conformal solar cells with plasmonic nano-pillar back reflectors will be described, that generates absorption beyond the classical 4n2 limit (the Lambertian limit) averaged over the entire wavelength range for nc-Si:H. The absorption beyond the classical limit exists for common 1 micron thick nc-Si:H cells, and is further enhanced for non-normal light. Predicted currents exceed 31 mA/cm2 for nc-Si:H. The nano-pillars are tapered into conical protrusions that enhance plasmonic effects. Such conformal nc-Si:H solar cells with the same device architecture were grown on periodic nano-hole, periodic nano-pillar substrates and compared with randomly textured substrates, formed by annealing Ag/ZnO or etched Ag/ZnO. The periodic back reflector solar cells with nano-pillars demonstrated higher quantum efficiency and higher photo-currents that were 1 mA/cm2higher than those for the randomly textured back reflectors. Losses within the experimental solar architectures are discussed.

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