scholarly journals Plasmonic Effects of Nanoholes in a Silver Back Reflector for Improved Light Trapping in Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. van Dijk ◽  
M. Di Vece ◽  
A.D. van Dam ◽  
C.H.M. van der Werf ◽  
R.E.I. Schropp
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Back Reflector ◽  
Plasmonic Effects

Development of n-μc-SiOx:H as cost effective back reflector and its application to thin film amorphous silicon solar cells

Solar Energy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 591-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Banerjee ◽  
T. Srikanth ◽  
U. Basavaraju ◽  
R.M. Tomy ◽  
M.G. Sreenivasan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Back Reflector

Broadband light trapping in nanopatterned thin film amorphous silicon solar cells

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Martella ◽  
C. Mennucci ◽  
M.C. Giordano ◽  
F. Buatier de Mongeot ◽  
P. Delli Veneri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Silicon 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.

Periodic Structures for Improved Light Management in Thin-film Silicon Solar Cells

2008 ◽  
Vol 1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janez Krc ◽  
Andrej Campa ◽  
Stefan L. Luxembourg ◽  
Miro Zeman ◽  
Marko Topic
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Photonic Crystal ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Periodic Structures ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Thin Film Silicon ◽  
Light Management

AbstractAdvanced light management in thin-film solar cells is important in order to improve the photo-current and, thus, to raise up the conversion efficiencies of the solar cells. In this article two types of periodic structures ¡V one-dimensional diffraction gratings and photonic crystals,are analyzed in the direction of showing their potential for improved light trapping in thin-film silicon solar cells. The anti-reflective effects and enhanced scattering at the gratings with the triangular and rectangular features are studied by means of two-dimensional optical simulations. Simulations of the complete microcrystalline solar cell incorporating the gratings at all interfaces are presented. Critical optical issues to be overcome for achieving the performances of the cells with the optimized randomly textured interfaces are pointed out. Reflectance measurements for the designed 12 layer photonic crystal stack consisting of amorphous silicon nitride and amorphous silicon layers are presented and compared with the simulations. High reflectance (up to 99 %) of the stack is measured for a broad wavelength spectrum. By means of optical simulations the potential for using a simple photonic crystal structure as a back reflector in an amorphous silicon solar cell is demonstrated.

Novel approaches of light management in thin-film silicon solar cells

2006 ◽  
Vol 910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janez Krc ◽  
M. Zeman ◽  
A. Campa ◽  
F. Smole ◽  
M. Topic
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Photonic Crystal ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Wavelength Region ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Novel Approaches ◽  
Back Reflector ◽  
High Reflectance

AbstractIn order to improve light trapping in thin-film silicon solar cells two novel approaches are investigated in this article: angle-selective management of light scattering inside the solar cell and wavelength-selective manipulation of high reflectance or transmittance of light. Diffraction gratings are analyzed as a representative of the first approach. Haze and angular distribution function of scattered (diffracted) light in reflection are measured for aluminum-based rectangular periodic gratings with different period and height of the rectangles. High haze values in specific wavelength region and scattering angles of the investigated gratings measured in air and water agree very well with the theoretical predictions. Considering the actual optical situation in microcrystalline silicon solar cells, optimal period and height of the rectangular gratings applied as a back reflector are calculated for obtaining the total reflection at the front interfaces. In the frame of the second approach, photonic-crystal-like structures are introduced. By means of optical simulations photonic-crystal-like structures are investigated for two possible applications: an intermediate reflector in a micromorph silicon solar cell with wavelength-selective reflectivity and a dielectric back reflector with a high reflectance in the long-wavelength region. The photonic crystal structure consisting of sequences of n-doped amorphous silicon and ZnO layers is designed for the efficient intermediate reflector. For the back reflector with a high reflectance the structures with intrinsic amorphous silicon, SiO2, MgF2 and TiO2 are proposed.

Enhanced Absorption in Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells Using Plasmonic and Photonic Crystals – Measurement and Simulation

2010 ◽  
Vol 1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Curtin ◽  
Rana Biswas ◽  
Vikram Dalal
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Photonic Crystal ◽  
Photonic Crystals ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Back Reflectors ◽  
Back Reflector ◽  
Hole Arrays

AbstractWe develop experimentally and theoretically plasmonic and photonic crystals for enhancing thin film silicon solar cells. Thin film amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells suffer from decreased absorption of red and near-infrared photons, where the photon absorption length is large. Simulations predict maximal light absorption for a pitch of 700-800 nm for photonic crystal hole arrays in silver or ZnO/Ag back reflectors, with absorption increases of ~12%. The photonic crystal improves over the ideal randomly roughened back reflector (or the ‘4n2limit’) at wavelengths near the band edge. We fabricated metallic photonic crystal back-reflectors using photolithography and reactive-ion etching. We conformally deposited a-Si:H solar cells on triangular lattice hole arrays of pitch 760 nm on silver back-reflectors. Electron microscopy demonstrates excellent long range periodicity and conformal a-Si:H growth. The measured quantum efficiency increases by 7-8 %, relative to a flat reflector reference device, with enhancement factors exceeding 6 at near-infrared wavelengths. The photonic crystal back reflector strongly diffracts light and increases optical path lengths of solar photons.

Light trapping in amorphous silicon solar cells on plastic substrates

2003 ◽  
Vol 769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Terrazzoni-Daudrix ◽  
Joelle Guillet ◽  
Xavier Niquille ◽  
Arvind Shah ◽  
R. Morf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Theoretical Calculations ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Plastic Substrates ◽  
Trapping Effect ◽  
Thin Film Silicon

AbstractIn order to simultaneously decrease the production costs of thin film silicon solar cells and obtain higher performances, the authors have studied the possibility to increase the light trapping effect within thin film silicon solar cells deposited on flexible plastic substrates. In this context, different nano-structure shapes useable for the back contacts of amorphous silicon solar cells on plastic substrates have been investigated: random textures and gratings.The optimisation of such back reflectors is so far empirical. Gratings constitute a well-known optical technique and their light trapping effect can be optimised by simulation.A first conclusion is that neither the traditional “Haze factor” determined in air for a wavelength of 650nm nor the “rms roughness” of the surfaces are sufficient as criteria to optimise the back contact roughness for light trapping in cells. The shape of grains is a further essential criterion. The authors have so far obtained a relative current enhancement of 16% for solar cells deposited on randomly textured polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as compared to a corresponding conventional solar cell co-deposited on a flat mirror (Ag) on glass. Solar cells on PET with 6.3% stabilized efficiency have until now been obtained. Theoretical calculations indicate that gratings can enhance the current of a-Si solar cells by up to 30 percent.

UV-embossed textured back reflector structures for thin film silicon solar cells

2010 ◽  
Vol 1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordi Escarre ◽  
Karin Söderström ◽  
Oscar Cubero ◽  
Franz-Josef Haug ◽  
Christophe Ballif
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Thin Film Silicon ◽  
Back Reflector

AbstractIn this work, we study the replication of nanotextures used in thin film silicon solar cells to enhance light trapping onto inexpensive substrates such as glass or polyethylene naphtalate (PEN). Morphological analysis was carried out to asses the quality of these replicas. Moreover, single and tandem a-Si:H solar cells were deposited on top of the master and replica structures to verify their suitability to be used as substrates for solar cells in n-i-p configuration. We find stabilized efficiencies around 8% which are similar for tandem cells on masters and PEN replicas.

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