Optical metastructures for trapping light in thin Si solar cells

Varadan, Vasundara V.; Ji, Liming

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2010.5614665

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…for wavelengths at 550 nm, 590 nm, 650 nm, 670 nm and 700 nm. This analysis reveals the presence of Fabry-Perot like resonance inside the i-a-Si:H layer, which is similar to the field distribution as reported by Varadan, et al 37 To better understand the nature of the resonance, the NDPSC in Fig. 2 …”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

“…In most plasmonic solar cell literature 12-16, 19, 21, 22-23, 33 it is mainly this near field effect that is thought to be responsible from optical absorption enhancement. In contrast, we employ the plasmonic effect primarily for impedance tuning to excite strong Fabry-Perot resonances 32,37 in the i-layer. It can be noted here that the thin ITO buffer layer aids in tuning the resonance towards a blue shift as also reported by Massiot, et al 32 For shorter wavelengths, the absorption in the i-layer appears to be dominated by the large absorption coefficient of a-Si:H instead of a plasmonic enhancement or Fabry-Perot resonance.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-resonant silver nano-disk patterned thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells for Staebler-Wronski effect compensation

Vora

Gwamuri

Pearce

et al. 2014

Journal of Applied Physics

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We study polarization independent improved light trapping in commercial thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic cells using a three-dimensional silver array of multi-resonant nano-disk structures embedded in a silicon nitride anti-reflection coating (ARC) to enhance optical absorption in the intrinsic layer (i-a-Si:H) for the visible spectrum for any polarization angle. Predicted total optical enhancement (OE) in absorption in the i-a-Si:H for AM-1.5 solar spectrum is 18.51% as compared to the reference, and producing a 19.65% improvement in short-circuit current density (JSC) over 11.7 mA/cm 2 for a reference cell. The JSC in the nano-disk patterned solar cell (NDPSC) was found to be higher than the commercial reference structure for any incident angle. The NDPSC has a multi-resonant optical response for the visible spectrum and the associated mechanism for OE in i-a-Si:H layer is excitation of Fabry-Perot resonance facilitated by surface plasmon resonances. The detrimental Staebler-Wronski effect (SWE) in a-Si:H solar cell can be minimized by the additional OE in the NDPSC and self-annealing of defect states by additional heat generation, thus likely improving the overall stabilized characteristics of a-Si:H solar cells.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-resonant silver nano-disk patterned thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells for Staebler-Wronski effect compensation

Vora

Gwamuri

Pearce

et al. 2014

Journal of Applied Physics

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Nanoplasmonics: a frontier of photovoltaic solar cells

Ouyang

Jia

et al. 2012

Nanophotonics

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Nanoplasmonics recently has emerged as a new frontier of photovoltaic research. Noble metal nanostructures that can concentrate and guide light have demonstrated great capability for dramatically improving the energy conversion efficiency of both laboratory and industrial solar cells, providing an innovative pathway potentially transforming the solar industry. However, to make the nanoplasmonic technology fully appreciated by the solar industry, key challenges need to be addressed; including the detrimental absorption of metals, broadband light trapping mechanisms, cost of plasmonic nanomaterials, simple and inexpensive fabrication and integration methods of the plasmonic nanostructures, which are scalable for full size manufacture. This article reviews the recent progress of plasmonic solar cells including the fundamental mechanisms, material fabrication, theoretical modelling and emerging directions with a distinct emphasis on solutions tackling the above-mentioned challenges for industrial relevant applications.

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Optical metastructures for trapping light in thin Si solar cells

Cited by 2 publications

References 8 publications

Multi-resonant silver nano-disk patterned thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells for Staebler-Wronski effect compensation

Multi-resonant silver nano-disk patterned thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells for Staebler-Wronski effect compensation

Nanoplasmonics: a frontier of photovoltaic solar cells

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