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Photocurrent enhancement in thin‐film silicon solar cells by combination of anti‐reflective sub‐wavelength structures and light‐trapping textures
Author(s) -
Sai Hitoshi,
Matsui Takuya,
Saito Kimihiko,
Kondo Michio,
Yoshida Isao
Publication year - 2015
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.2594
Subject(s) - materials science , optoelectronics , plasmonic solar cell , photocurrent , dielectric , wavelength , trapping , silicon , thin film , refractive index , optics , solar cell , nanotechnology , monocrystalline silicon , ecology , physics , biology
Dielectric films with anti‐reflective sub‐wavelength structures are applied to thin‐film silicon solar cells to improve the light incoupling at the front surface. It is verified that modification of the refractive index of the incident medium using dielectric films with sub‐wavelength structures is beneficial to reduce the average reflectivity of Si solar cells with an anti‐reflective coating based on optical interference. It is also shown that the sub‐wavelength structure must be combined with a proper light‐trapping texture to enhance the absorption within thin‐film silicon solar cells. The effectiveness of dielectric films with sub‐wavelength structures is demonstrated by an increase of the short‐circuit current density of a microcrystalline silicon cell from 29.1 to 30.4 mA/cm 2 in a designated area of 1 cm 2 . The optical interplay between the dielectric films and the light‐trapping textures is also discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.