Investigation of the optical absorption of a-Si:H solar cells on micro- and nano-textured surfaces
Sahraei N, Venkataraj S, Aberle AG, Peters IM (2013)
Publication Type: Conference contribution
Publication year: 2013
Journal
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Book Volume: 33
Pages Range: 166-172
Conference Proceedings Title: Energy Procedia
DOI: 10.1016/j.egypro.2013.05.054
Abstract
Light trapping is essential for thin-film silicon solar cells due to their thin absorber layers. Textured surfaces are widely used to scatter light, thereby increasing the pathlength of light in these solar cells. In a-Si:H solar cells different interfaces can be textured, e.g. the glass/TCO (transparent conductive oxide) interface, the TCO/a-Si:H interface, or the rear TCO/Al (rear reflector) interface. Nano-textured TCOs are widely used for scattering light at the TCO/a-Si:H interface. Additionally, it was shown that micro-texturing of the glass/TCO interface is effective for light scattering, especially in the long-wavelength range. Aluminium induced texturing (AIT) is a method to texture glass surfaces. Previous studies have shown that AIT glass increases the quantum efficiency of micromorph thin-film solar cells in the long-wavelength range. In this contribution, the Advanced Semiconductor Analysis (ASA) software is used to investigate the effect of textured interfaces on the absorption enhancement of single- and double-junction a- Si:H thin-film solar cells. Surface morphologies of AIT glass (micro-textured) and a commercially available TCO-coated glass (whereby the TCO is nano-textured) are examined. The results suggest that nano-texturing increases the parasitic absorption in the TCO and the p-doped silicon layer, thus decreasing the blue response of the solar cell. However, absorption in the intrinsic layer is significantly enhanced in the long-wavelength region. Particularly in the double-junction a-Si:H solar cells on AIT micro-textured superstrates, the current is enhanced in both the top and the bottom cell. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection.
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APA:
Sahraei, N., Venkataraj, S., Aberle, A.G., & Peters, I.M. (2013). Investigation of the optical absorption of a-Si:H solar cells on micro- and nano-textured surfaces. In Energy Procedia (pp. 166-172). Elsevier Ltd.
MLA:
Sahraei, Nasim, et al. "Investigation of the optical absorption of a-Si:H solar cells on micro- and nano-textured surfaces." Proceedings of the 2012 PV Asia Pacific Conference, PVAP 2012 Elsevier Ltd, 2013. 166-172.
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