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Light trapping with titanium dioxide diffraction gratings fabricated by nanoimprinting
Author(s) -
Wang ErChien,
Mokkapati Sudha,
White Tom P.,
Soderstrom Thomas,
Varlamov Sergey,
Catchpole Kylie R.
Publication year - 2014
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.2294
Subject(s) - materials science , titanium dioxide , optoelectronics , nanoimprint lithography , trapping , photocurrent , silicon , silicon dioxide , refractive index , diffraction , optics , reflector (photography) , titanium , light scattering , dielectric , scattering , fabrication , composite material , medicine , ecology , light source , alternative medicine , physics , pathology , biology , metallurgy
Dielectric scattering structures are a promising way of trapping light in solar cells. Titanium dioxide is a particularly attractive candidate material because of its high refractive index and ability to be deposited on a finished solar cell. Here, we present an experimental demonstration of photocurrent enhancement in thin film recrystallised silicon solar cells using TiO 2 pillar arrays fabricated on the rear of the cells using nanoimprint lithography. A short circuit current enhancement of 19% is measured experimentally, and excellent agreement with numerical simulations is obtained. We show numerically that by replacing the Ag capping present on the cells with a detached rear Ag back reflector, the enhancement could reach 37%. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.