Journal ArticleDOI
Efficiency enhancement in Si solar cells by textured photonic crystal back reflector
Lingping Zeng,Yasha Yi,Ching-yin Hong,Jifeng Liu,Ning-Ning Feng,Xiaoman Duan,Lionel C. Kimerling,Bernard A. Alamariu +7 more
TLDR
In this article, an efficient light-trapping scheme was developed for solar cells that can enhance the optical path length by several orders of magnitude using a textured photonic crystal as a backside reflector.Abstract:
An efficient light-trapping scheme is developed for solar cells that can enhance the optical path length by several orders of magnitude using a textured photonic crystal as a backside reflector. It comprises a reflection grating etched on the backside of the substrate and a one-dimensional photonic crystal deposited on the grating. Top-contacted crystalline Si solar cells integrated with the textured photonic crystal back reflector were designed and fabricated. External quantum efficiency was significantly improved between the wavelengths of 1000 and 1200nm (enhancement up to 135 times), and the overall power conversion efficiency was considerably increased.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Improving thin-film crystalline silicon solar cell efficiencies with photonic crystals
TL;DR: Here, a photonic crystal-based light-trapping approach is analyzed and compared to previous approaches for c-Si thin film solar cells, which gives rise to weak absorption of one-third of usable solar photons.
Journal ArticleDOI
Fundamental limit of nanophotonic light-trapping in solar cells
TL;DR: A statistical temporal coupled-mode theory of light trapping based on a rigorous electromagnetic approach is developed, revealing that the conventional limit can be substantially surpassed when optical modes exhibit deep-subwavelength-scale field confinement, opening new avenues for highly efficient next-generation solar cells.
Journal ArticleDOI
Optical absorption enhancement in silicon nanowire arrays with a large lattice constant for photovoltaic applications.
Chenxi Lin,Michelle L. Povinelli +1 more
TL;DR: The transfer matrix method is used to calculate the optical absorptance of vertically-aligned silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays and shows that an optimized SiNW array with lattice constant of 600 nm and wire diameter of 540 nm has a 72% higher ultimate efficiency than a Si thin film of equal thickness.
Journal ArticleDOI
High quantum efficiency InGaN/GaN solar cells with 2.95 eV band gap
Carl J. Neufeld,Nikholas G. Toledo,Samantha C. Cruz,Michael Iza,Steven P. DenBaars,Umesh K. Mishra +5 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the III-nitride photovoltaic cells with external quantum efficiency as high as 63% were reported on (0001) sapphire substrates with xIn=12%.
Journal ArticleDOI
Fundamental limit of light trapping in grating structures.
TL;DR: This work uses a rigorous electromagnetic approach to analyze the fundamental limit of light-trapping enhancement in grating structures, which can exceed the bulk limit of 4n², but has significant angular dependency.
References
More filters
Book
The physics of solar cells
TL;DR: In this article, the p-n junction Monocrystalline solar cells and thin film solar cells managing light over the limit: Strategies for Higher Efficiency are discussed. And the basic principles of PV Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors Generation and Recombination Junctions Analysis of the P-n Junction Mon-Cylindrical Solar Cells
Journal ArticleDOI
Limiting efficiencies of ideal single and multiple energy gap terrestrial solar cells
TL;DR: In this article, the maximum efficiency of ideal solar cells for both single and multiple energy gap cells using a standard air mass 1.5 terrestrial solar spectrum was calculated using a simple graphical method, which clearly exhibits the contributions of various intrinsic losses.
MonographDOI
High Efficiency Silicon Solar Cells
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the work within the author's Centre directed at further improving performance features while reducing cost towards these lower limits, and also describe progress in the commercialization of the Centre's thin film multilayer cell technology in conjunction with Pacific Power via a newly incorporated company, Pacific Solar Pty. Ltd.
Journal ArticleDOI
Submicrometer gratings for solar energy applications.
Claus Heine,R. Morf +1 more
TL;DR: A wideband antireflection structure for glass that consists of a diffraction grating with a dielectric overcoat, which leads to an average reflection of less than 0.6% in the wavelength range between 300 and 2100 nm is presented.
Journal ArticleDOI
Periodic light coupler gratings in amorphous thin film solar cells
TL;DR: In this article, a simple formula for the threshold wavelength of total internal reflection was derived for amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells using periodically structured aluminum doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) with periods between 390 and 980 nm as a transparent front contact.