Optimal wavelength scale diffraction gratings for light trapping in solar cells

被引:86
作者
Chong, Teck Kong [1 ]
Wilson, Jonathan [2 ]
Mokkapati, Sudha [2 ]
Catchpole, Kylie R. [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ S Australia, Sch Elect & Informat Engn, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
[2] Australian Natl Univ, Ctr Sustainable Energy Syst, Coll Engn & Comp Sci, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
基金
澳大利亚研究理事会;
关键词
light trapping; diffraction gratings; solar cells; photovoltaics; FILM CRYSTALLINE SILICON; EFFICIENCY; SIZE;
D O I
10.1088/2040-8978/14/2/024012
中图分类号
O43 [光学];
学科分类号
070207 ; 0803 ;
摘要
Dielectric gratings are a promising method of achieving light trapping for thin crystalline silicon solar cells. In this paper, we systematically examine the potential performance of thin silicon solar cells with either silicon (Si) or titanium dioxide (TiO2) gratings using numerical simulations. The square pyramid structure with silicon nitride coating provides the best light trapping among all the symmetric structures investigated, with 89% of the expected short circuit current density of the Lambertian case. For structures where the grating is at the rear of the cell, we show that the light trapping provided by the square pyramid and the checkerboard structure is almost identical. Introducing asymmetry into the grating structures can further improve their light trapping properties. An optimized Si skewed pyramid grating on the front surface of the solar cell results in a maximum short circuit current density, J(sc), of 33.4 mA cm(-2), which is 91% of the J(sc) expected from an ideal Lambertian scatterer. An optimized Si skewed pyramid grating on the rear performs as well as a rear Lambertian scatterer and an optimized TiO2 grating on the rear results in 84% of the J(sc) expected from an optimized Si grating. The results show that submicron symmetric and skewed pyramids of Si or TiO2 are a highly effective way of achieving light trapping in thin film solar cells. TiO2 structures would have the additional advantage of not increasing recombination within the cell.
引用
收藏
页数:9
相关论文
共 26 条
[1]   Shape and size dependence of the anti-reflective and light-trapping action of periodic grooves [J].
Abouelsaood, AA ;
El-Naggar, SA ;
Ghannam, MY .
PROGRESS IN PHOTOVOLTAICS, 2002, 10 (08) :513-526
[2]   Nanoimprinted Tio2 sol-gel passivating diffraction gratings for solar cell applications [J].
Barbe, Jeremy ;
Thomson, Andrew Francis ;
Wang, Er-Chien ;
McIntosh, Keith ;
Catchpole, Kylie .
PROGRESS IN PHOTOVOLTAICS, 2012, 20 (02) :143-148
[3]   NUMERICAL MODELING OF TEXTURED SILICON SOLAR-CELLS USING PC-1D [J].
BASORE, PA .
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, 1990, 37 (02) :337-343
[4]   Improving thin-film crystalline silicon solar cell efficiencies with photonic crystals [J].
Bermel, Peter ;
Luo, Chiyan ;
Zeng, Lirong ;
Kimerling, Lionel C. ;
Joannopoulos, John D. .
OPTICS EXPRESS, 2007, 15 (25) :16986-17000
[5]   LIGHT TRAPPING PROPERTIES OF PYRAMIDALLY TEXTURED SURFACES [J].
CAMPBELL, P ;
GREEN, MA .
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 1987, 62 (01) :243-249
[6]   A conceptual model of the diffuse transmittance of lamellar diffraction gratings on solar cells [J].
Catchpole, K. R. .
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 2007, 102 (01)
[7]   A conceptual model of light coupling by pillar diffraction gratings [J].
Catchpole, K. R. ;
Green, M. A. .
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 2007, 101 (06)
[8]   Design of highly efficient light-trapping structures for thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells [J].
Feng, Ning-Ning ;
Michel, Jurgen ;
Zeng, Lirong ;
Liu, Jifeng ;
Hong, Ching-Yin ;
Kimerling, Lionel C. ;
Duan, Xiaoman .
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, 2007, 54 (08) :1926-1933
[9]  
Gangopadhyay U, 2008, SOLAR CELL RES PROGR, P53
[10]  
Goetzberger A., 1981, Fifteenth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1981, P867