Nanoscale photon management in silicon solar cells

Abstract

Light absorption in a photovoltaic device becomes critical as the thickness of an absorber layer is decreased to reduce cost. To enhance light absorption, photon management at the nanoscale has been studied because conventional methods, which are based on micrometer-sized structure, do not work well for thinner solar cells. This article reviews recent progress in photon management on the nanoscale for increasing light absorption in Si solar cells. The methodology for the absorption enhancement will be discussed, followed by advances in nanofabrication techniques that make the methodology a scalable and viable solution. The authors conclude with a discussion of the challenge of photon management schemes and future directions for light trapping in ultra-thin Si solar cells.

Designing Efficient Solar‐Driven Hydrogen Evolution Photocathodes Using Semitransparent MoQxCly (Q = S, Se) Catalysts on Si Micropyramids

“…[ 5,12,13 ] To improve the insuffi cient light trapping ability of planar Si, nano-and microstructuring of Si have been investigated. [ 9,[14][15][16] However, higher density of surface states and faster recombination rates simultaneously observed with increased surface area in Si nano-and microwire-based photocathodes prevented signifi cant gains in effi ciency so far. [ 9,10,17,18 ] Alternatively, Si micropyramid (MP)-based solar cells have been shown to exhibit high effi ciency because of the omnidirectional broadband light-trapping ability.…”

III–V nanowire photovoltaics: Review of design for high efficiency

“…The anti‐reflection properties of nanowires have been well studied both experimentally and theoretically 88–100. Nanowire dimensions and separation are typically on the order of the wavelength of light where interference effects are dominant; therefore, the reflectance, absorptance and transmittance of nanowire arrays must be determined using wave optics.…”

Sol–Gel Route Toward Efficient and Robust Distributed Bragg Reflectors for Light Management Applications

“…Light management solutions are becoming a key component in the design of optical and optoelectronic devices. To control the flow of light, whether to extract it efficiently or to trap it to increase its absorption, photonic crystals are being increasingly used, due to their high efficiency and the ability to tune their properties . In particular, one‐dimensional structures such as distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR) are employed as low loss tunable mirrors, filters, or anti‐reflective coatings in a variety of complex photonic devices .…”