Single- and Multiple-Junction p-i-n Type Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells with p-a-Si1-xCx:H and nc-Si:H Films

Iftiquar, S.M.; Lee, Jeong Chul; Lee, Jieun; Jang, Jae Hoon; Lee, Yeun-Jung; Yi, Junsin

doi:10.5772/51732

Photodiodes - From Fundamentals to Applications 2012

DOI: 10.5772/51732

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Single- and Multiple-Junction p-i-n Type Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells with p-a-Si1-xCx:H and nc-Si:H Films

S.M. Iftiquar¹,

Jeong Chul Lee²,

Jieun Lee³

et al.

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Cited by 4 publications

References 54 publications

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Enhancing light absorption in a thin film silicon tandem solar cell fabricated on a reactive ion etched nano-structured glass surface

Ahn

Iftiquar

Cho

et al. 2018

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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The efficient capture and absorption of light are important aspects in improving the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of a solar cell. In a two-terminal tandem device, the output current density is limited by the lowest current-generating component sub-cell. We attempted by experiment to improve the current density of both sub-cells, using an inverted pyramid-type textured glass substrate. One of the two surfaces of the glass substrates was textured by semi-anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE) with a 100 sccm flow rate of SF 6 gas, and with 7 µm × 7 µm square-shaped etch masks, and obtained an optimum texture of base dimension ~7 µm, height ~8.5 µm, tip diameter ~75 nm and tip to tip separation between neighboring pyramids were about 9 µm. Tandem solar cells that were fabricated on these textured surfaces receive light from the base of these micro-pyramids, thereby enhancing light absorption in the active layers of the device. The shape of the texture and orientation of layers of the tandem solar cell ensured a longer optical path inside the solar cell, leading to higher optical absorption and an improvement in device performance. We observed an increase in the short circuit current density from 11.52 to 14.30 mA cm −2 , and in the device efficiency from 11.97% to 14.22%.

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Enhancing light absorption in a thin film silicon tandem solar cell fabricated on a reactive ion etched nano-structured glass surface

Ahn

Iftiquar

Cho

et al. 2018

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Combined optical–electrical finite-element simulations of thin-film solar cells with homogeneous and nonhomogeneous intrinsic layers

et al. 2016

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A two-dimensional finite-element model was developed to simulate the optoelectronic performance of thin-film, p-in junction solar cells. One or three p-in junctions filled the region between the front window and back reflector; semiconductor layers were made from mixtures of two different alloys of hydrogenated amorphous silicon; empirical relationships between the complex-valued relative optical permittivity and the bandgap were used; a transparent-conducting-oxide layer was attached to the front surface of the solar cell; and a metallic reflector, either flat or periodically corrugated, was attached to the back surface. First, frequency-domain Maxwell postulates were solved to determine the spatial absorption of photons and thus the generation of electron-hole pairs. The AM1.5G solar spectrum was taken to represent the incident solar flux. Second, drift-diffusion equations were solved for the steady-state electron and hole densities. Numerical results indicate that increasing the number of p-in junctions from one to three may increase the solar-cell efficiency by up to 14%. In the case of single p-in junction solar cells, our simulations indicate that efficiency may be increased by up to 17% by incorporating a periodically corrugated back reflector (as opposed to a flat back reflector) and by tailoring the bandgap profile in the i layer. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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Optimization of nonhomogeneous indium-gallium-nitride Schottky-barrier thin-film solar cells

2018

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A two-dimensional model was developed to simulate the optoelectronic characteristics of indium-gallium-nitride (In ξ Ga 1-ξ N), thin-film, Schottky-barrier solar cells. The solar cells comprise a window, designed to reduce the reflection of incident light, Schottky-barrier and ohmic front electrodes, an n-doped In ξ Ga 1-ξ N wafer, and a metallic periodically corrugated backreflector (PCBR). The ratio of indium to gallium in the wafer varies periodically throughout the thickness of the absorbing layer of the solar cell. Thus, the resulting In ξ Ga 1-ξ N wafer's optical and electrical properties are made to vary periodically. This material nonhomogeneity could be physically achieved by varying the fractional composition of indium and gallium during deposition. Empirical models for indium nitride and gallium nitride were combined using Vegard's law to determine the optical and electrical constitutive properties of the alloy. The nonhomogeneity of the electrical properties of the In ξ Ga 1-ξ N aids in the separation of the excited electron-hole pairs, while the periodicities of optical properties and the back-reflector enable the incident light to couple to multiple guided wave modes. The profile of the resulting charge-carrier-generation rate when the solar cell is illuminated by the AM1.5G spectrum was calculated using the rigorous coupled-wave approach. The steady-state drift-diffusion equations were solved using COMSOL, which employs finite-volume methods, to calculate the current density as a function of the voltage. Mid-band Shockley-Read-Hall, Auger, and radiative recombination rates were taken to be the dominant methods of recombination. The model was used to study the effects of the solar-cell geometry and the shape of the periodic material nonhomogeneity on efficiency. The solar-cell efficiency was optimized using the differential evolution algorithm.

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Single- and Multiple-Junction p-i-n Type Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells with p-a-Si1-xCx:H and nc-Si:H Films

Cited by 4 publications

References 54 publications

Enhancing light absorption in a thin film silicon tandem solar cell fabricated on a reactive ion etched nano-structured glass surface

Enhancing light absorption in a thin film silicon tandem solar cell fabricated on a reactive ion etched nano-structured glass surface

Combined optical–electrical finite-element simulations of thin-film solar cells with homogeneous and nonhomogeneous intrinsic layers

Optimization of nonhomogeneous indium-gallium-nitride Schottky-barrier thin-film solar cells

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