Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T04:01:31.667Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Light Management Using Periodic Textures for Enhancing Photocurrent and Conversion Efficiency in Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2013

Hitoshi Sai ,
Takuya Matsui ,
Adrien Bidiville ,
Takashi Koida ,
Yuji Yoshida ,
Kimihiko Saito  and
Michio Kondo
Hitoshi Sai
Affiliation:
Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
Takuya Matsui
Affiliation:
Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
Adrien Bidiville
Affiliation:
Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
Takashi Koida
Affiliation:
Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
Yuji Yoshida
Affiliation:
Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
Kimihiko Saito
Affiliation:
Tsukuba Research Laboratory, Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology Research Association, Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
Michio Kondo
Affiliation:
Research Center for Photovoltaic Technologies, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 2, Umezono 1-1-1, Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.
Get access

Abstract

Periodically textured back reflectors with hexagonal dimple arrays are applied to thin-film microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cells for enhancing light trapping. The period and aspect ratio of the honeycomb textures have a big impact on the photovoltaic performance. When the textures have a moderate aspect ratio, the optimum period for obtaining a high short circuit current density (JSC) is found to be equal to or slightly larger than the cell thickness. If the cell thickness exceeds the texture period, the cell surface tends to be flattened and texture-induced defects are generated, which constrain the improvement in JSC. Based on these findings, we have fabricated optimized μc-Si:H cells achieving a high active-area efficiency exceeding 11% and a JSC of 30 mA/cm2.

Keywords

absorptionphotovoltaicthin film
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1536: Symposium A – Film Silicon Science and Technology , 2013 , pp. 3 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Meier, J., Dubail, S., Platz, R., Torres, P., Kroll, U., Anna Selvan, J.A., Pellaton Vaucher, N., Fischer, Ch. Hof, D., Keppner, H., Flückiger, R., Shah, A., Shklover, V., Ufert, K.-D., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 49, 35 (1997).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamamoto, K., Suzuki, T., Yoshimi, M., Nakajima, A., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 36, L569 (1997).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kambe, M., Takahashi, A., Taneda, N., Masumo, K., Oyama, T., and Sato, K., Proc. 33rd IEEE Photovolt. Specialist Conf., San Diego, 2008, pp.609–613.Google Scholar
Wenas, W.W., Yamada, A., Konagai, M., Takahashi, K., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 30 L441 (1991).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Despeisse, M., Battaglia, C., Boccard, M., Bugnon, G., Charrière, M., Cuony, P., Hänni, S., Löfgren, L., Meillaud, F., Parascandolo, G., Söderström, T., Ballif, C., Phys. Status Solidi A 208, 1863 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berginski, M., Hüpkes, J., Schulte, M., Schöpe, G., Steibig, H., Rech, B., and Wuttig, M., J. Appl. Phys. 101 074903 (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yan, B., Yue, G., Sivec, L., Owens-Mawson, J., Yang, J., Guha, S., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 104, 13 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sai, H., Jia, H., Kondo, M., J. Appl. Phys. 108, 044505 (2010).Google Scholar
Battaglia, C., Hsu, C.-M., Söderström, K., Escarre, J., Haug, F.-J., Charrière, M., Boccard, M., Despeisse, M., Alexander, D. T. L., Cantoni, M., Cui, Y., Ballif, C., ACS Nano 6, 2790 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haug, F.-J., Söderstrom, K., Naqavi, A., Ballif, C., J. Appl. Phys. 109, 084516 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haug, F.-J., Söderström, T., Python, M., Terrazzoni-Daudrix, V., Niquille, X., Ballif, C., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 93, 884 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sai, H., Kondo, M., J. Appl. Phys. 105, 094511 (2009).Google Scholar
Vanecek, M., Babchenko, O., Purkrt, A., Holovsky, J., Neykova, N., Poruba, A., Remes, Z., Meier, J., Kroll, U., Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 163503 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sai, H., Saito, K., Kondo, M., Appl. Phys. Lett 101, 173901 (2012).Google Scholar
Sai, H., Saito, K., Kondo, M., IEEE J. Photovolt. 3, 5 (2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sai, H., Saito, K., Hozuki, N., Kondo, M., Appl. Phys. Lett 102, 053509 (2013).Google Scholar
Haase, C. and Stiebig, H., Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 061116 (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewan, R., Vasilev, I., Jovanov, V., Knipp, D., J. Appl. Phys. 110, 013101 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Čampa, A, Krč, Janez, Topič, M., J. Appl. Phys. 105, 083107 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheng, X., Liu, J., Kozinsky, I., Agarwall, A.M., Michel, J., Kimerling, L.C., Adv. Mater. 23, 843 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yu, Z., Raman, A., Fan, S., Opt. Express 18, A366 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, S. E., Chen, G., Nano Lett. 10, 4692 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Python, M., Madani, O., Dominé, D., Meillaud, F., Vallat-Sauvain, E., Ballif, C., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 93, 1714 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, H.B.T., Franken, R.H., Rath, J.K., Schropp, R.E.I., Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 93, 338–349 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taflove, A., Hagness, S.C., Computational Electrodynamics – finite-difference time-domain method, (Artech House, 2000).Google Scholar
Lynch, D.W., Hunter, W.R., Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids, ed. Palik, E.D. (Academic Press, 1985) pp. 351–357.Google Scholar
Fujiwara, H., Kondo, M., Phys. Rev. B 71, 075109 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sai, H., Kanamori, Y., Kondo, M., Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 113502 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Söderstrom, K., Bugnon, G., Biron, R., Pahud, C., Meillaud, F., Haug, F.-J., Ballif, C., J. Appl. Phys. 112, 114503 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar