The reflectivity of 1D+2D PC back reflector in thin-film solar cell

Photonic Crystal Structures for Photovoltaic Applications

“…It is vital to prevent light from escaping from the active layer without being absorbed. This condition requires a relatively thick active layer (even up to 3 mm) in most popular silicon solar cells [ 94 ]). Back reflectors are applied to reduce this thickness.…”

“…They reflect the light passing through the active layer back to the active region and enhance the path along which light can be absorbed. The simplest back reflectors are metal layers [ 82 , 95 ], for example, Ag [ 81 , 94 ] or Al [ 94 , 96 ]. However, they have some drawbacks (plasmonic resonance loss of the interface between the metal and absorption layers, performance degeneration due to metal ion diffusion) [ 94 ].…”

“…The simplest back reflectors are metal layers [ 82 , 95 ], for example, Ag [ 81 , 94 ] or Al [ 94 , 96 ]. However, they have some drawbacks (plasmonic resonance loss of the interface between the metal and absorption layers, performance degeneration due to metal ion diffusion) [ 94 ]. PCs find their application in thin film solar cells by providing controllable and enhanced reflections from material layers to promote increased absorption.…”

“…There have been a large number of propositions for using PCs as a back reflectors ( Figure 8 ): 1D binary PCs (DBR) [ 23 , 26 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 ] 1D ternary PCs [ 24 ] Combination of a reflection grating and 1D PCs [ 105 , 106 ] Textured conductive PCs (TCPC) [ 107 ] 2D PCs [ 108 , 109 ] Combination of 1D and 2D PCs [ 94 ] 3D inverse opals [ 110 , 111 ] …”

“…Zhan and Cai [ 94 ] obtained a back reflector in a full-wave band of 470–1100 nm by combining 1D and 2D PCs. The applied 1D PC was SiO 2 /c-Si DBR, and the 2D PC was a crystalline silicon slab with etched periodic air pores.…”