Premium
Ray tracing for the optics at nano‐textured ZnO–air and ZnO–silicon interfaces
Author(s) -
Schulte Melanie,
Bittkau Karsten,
Pieters Bart Elger,
Jorke Silvia,
Stiebig Helmut,
Hüpkes Jürgen,
Rau Uwe
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.1097
Subject(s) - silicon , optics , scattering , ray tracing (physics) , maxwell's equations , near field scanning optical microscope , materials science , geometrical optics , interface (matter) , light scattering , physics , optical microscope , optoelectronics , scanning electron microscope , classical mechanics , composite material , capillary number , capillary action
Abstract We investigate the scattering behavior of nano‐textured ZnO–Air and ZnO–Silicon interfaces for the application in thin film silicon solar cells. Contrary to the common approach, the numerical solution of the Maxwell's equations, we introduce a ray tracing approach based on geometric optics and the measured interface topography. The validity of this model is discussed by means of scanning near‐field optical microscopy (SNOM) measurements and numerical solutions of the Maxwell's equations. We show, that the ray tracing model can qualitatively describe the formation of micro lenses, which are the dominant feature of the local scattering properties of the investigated interfaces. A quantitative analysis for the ZnO–Silicon interface at λ = 488 and 780 nm shows that the ray tracing model corresponds well to the numerical solution of the Maxwell's equations, especially within the first 1.5 µm distance from the interface. Direct correlations between the locally scattered intensity and the interface topographies are found. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.