Open AccessSelectively transparent and conducting photonic crystal rear-contacts for thin-film silicon-based building integrated photovoltaics
Author(s) -
Paul G. O’Brien,
Alongkarn Chutinan,
Pratish Mahtani,
Keith Leong,
Geoffrey A. Ozin,
Nazir P. Kherani
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.19.017040
Subject(s) - building integrated photovoltaics , photovoltaics , materials science , optics , photonic crystal , optoelectronics , silicon , solar cell , photovoltaic system , photonics , electrical engineering , physics , engineering
Wave-optics analysis is performed to show that selectively transparent and conducting photonic crystals (STCPCs) can be utilized as rear contacts to enhance the performance of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). For instance, the current generated in an a-Si:H cell with an STCPC functioning as its rear contact is comparable to that of a similar cell with an optimized ZnO/Ag rear contact. However, the solar lumens (~3.5 klm/m2) and power (~430W/m2) transmitted through the cell with the STCPC rear contact can potentially provide indoor heating and lighting, respectively. Moreover, experimental results show that STCPC rear contacts could be used to control the color temperature of light transmitted through BIPV panels.