Piotr Kowalczewski

Engineering Gaussian disorder at rough interfaces for light trapping in thin-film solar cells

A theoretical study of randomly rough interfaces to obtain light trapping in thin-film silicon solar cells is presented. Roughness is modeled as a surface with Gaussian disorder, described using the root mean square of height and the lateral correlation length as statistical parameters. The model is shown to describe commonly used rough substrates. Rigorous calculations, with short-circuit current density as a figure of merit, lead to an optimization of disorder parameters and to a significant absorption enhancement. The understanding and optimization of disorder is believed to be of general interest for various realizations of thin-film solar cells.

Towards high efficiency thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells: The roles of light trapping and non-radiative recombinations

Thin-film solar cells based on silicon have emerged as an alternative to standard thick wafers technology, but they are less efficient, because of incomplete absorption of sunlight, and non-radiative recombinations. In this paper, we focus on the case of crystalline silicon (c-Si) devices, and we present a full analytic electro-optical model for p-n junction solar cells with Lambertian light trapping. This model is validated against numerical solutions of the drift-diffusion equations. We use this model to investigate the interplay between light trapping, and bulk and surface recombination. Special attention is paid to surface recombination processes, which become more important in thinner devices. These effects are further amplified due to the textures required for light trapping, which lead to increased surface area. We show that c-Si solar cells with thickness of a few microns can overcome 20% efficiency and outperform bulk ones when light trapping is implemented. The optimal device thickness in presen...

Light trapping in thin-film solar cells with randomly rough and hybrid textures

We study light-trapping in thin-film silicon solar cells with rough interfaces. We consider solar cells made of different materials (c-Si and μc-Si) to investigate the role of size and nature (direct/indirect) of the energy band gap in light trapping. By means of rigorous calculations we demonstrate that the Lambertian Limit of absorption can be obtained in a structure with an optimized rough interface. We gain insight into the light trapping mechanisms by analysing the optical properties of rough interfaces in terms of Angular Intensity Distribution (AID) and haze. Finally, we show the benefits of merging ordered and disordered photonic structures for light trapping by studying a hybrid interface, which is a combination of a rough interface and a diffraction grating. This approach gives a significant absorption enhancement for a roughness with a modest size of spatial features, assuring good electrical properties of the interface. All the structures presented in this work are compatible with present-day technologies, giving recent progress in fabrication of thin monocrystalline silicon films and nanoimprint lithography.

Dual gratings for enhanced light trapping in thin-film solar cells by a layer-transfer technique

Thin film solar cells benefit significantly from the enhanced light trapping offered by photonic nanostructures. The thin film is typically patterned on one side only due to technological constraints. The ability to independently pattern both sides of the thin film increases the degrees of freedom available to the designer, as different functions can be combined, such as the reduction of surface reflection and the excitation of quasiguided modes for enhanced light absorption. Here, we demonstrate a technique based on simple layer transfer that allows us to independently pattern both sides of the thin film leading to enhanced light trapping. We used a 400 nm thin film of amorphous hydrogenated silicon and two simple 2D gratings for this proof-of-principle demonstration. Since the technique imposes no restrictions on the design parameters, any type of structure can be made.

Light trapping and electrical transport in thin-film solar cells with randomly rough textures

Using rigorous electro-optical calculations, we predict a significant efficiency enhancement in thin-film crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells with rough interfaces. We show that an optimized rough texture allows one to reach the Lambertian limit of absorption in a wide absorber thickness range from 1 to 100 μm. The improvement of efficiency due to the roughness is particularly substantial for thin cells, for which light trapping is crucial. We consider Auger, Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), and surface recombination, quantifying the importance of specific loss mechanisms. When the cell performance is limited by intrinsic Auger recombination, the efficiency of 24.4% corresponding to the wafer-based PERL cell can be achieved even if the absorber thickness is reduced from 260 to 10 μm. For cells with material imperfections, defect-based SRH recombination contributes to the opposite trends of short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage as a function of the absorber thickness. By investigating a wide range of ...

Silicon solar cells reaching the efficiency limits: from simple to complex modelling

Numerical modelling is pivotal in the development of high efficiency solar cells. In this contribution we present different approaches to model the solar cell performance: the diode equation, a generalization of the well-known Hovel model, and a complete device modelling. In all three approaches we implement a Lambertian light trapping, which is often considered as a benchmark for the optical design of solar cells. We quantify the range of parameters for which all three approaches give the same results, and highlight the advantages and limitations of different models. Using these methods we calculate the efficiency limits of single-junction crystalline silicon solar cells in a wide range of cell thickness. We find that silicon solar cells close to the efficiency limits operate in the high-injection (rather than in the low-injection) regime. In such a regime, surface recombination can have an unexpectedly large effect on cells with the absorber thickness lower than a few tens of microns. Finally, we calculate the limiting efficiency of tandem silicon–perovskite solar cells, and we determine the optimal thickness of the bottom silicon cell for different band gaps of the perovskite material.

Optimizing Gaussian Disorder at Rough Interfaces for Light Trapping in Thin-Film Solar Cells

We present a theoretical study of rough interfaces to obtain light trapping in thin-film silicon solar cells. Disorder parameters were optimized by rigorous calculations with short-circuit current density as a figure of merit.

Light absorption and carrier collection in thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells with light trapping

In this paper, we present a theoretical study of the effects of light trapping and carrier recombination in thin-film crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. We develop a new electro-optical model which is based on the analytic solution of drift-diffusion equations. We explore the effects of different thickness and material qualities on the energy conversion efficiency of the device. The results clearly point out that c-Si absorbers with a thickness between 10 and 80 microns are very attractive for future high efficiency applications. We find that in this range of thickness, thin-film devices can be more efficient than those based on bulk wafers. The requirements in terms of bulk and surface quality that ensure this result are quantified by our model. This analytic framework can be applied as a valid tool in understanding experimental and numerical results for c-Si solar cells with rough interfaces or other isotropic optical structures for light trapping.

Tailoring randomly rough textures for light trapping in thin-film solar cells

In this contribution, we use a rigorous electro-optical model to study randomly rough crystalline silicon solar cells with the absorber thickness ranging from 1 to 100 μm. We demonstrate a significant efficiency enhancement, particularly strong for thin cells. We estimate the “region of interest” for thin-film photovoltaics, namely the thickness range for which the energy conversion efficiency reaches maximum. This optimal thickness results from the opposite trends of current and voltage as a function of the absorber thickness. Finally, we focus on surface recombination. In our design, the cell efficiency is limited by recombination at the rear (silicon absorber/back reflector) interface, and therefore engineering the front surface to a large extent does not reduce the efficiency. The presented model of roughness adds a significant functionality to previous approaches, for it allows performing rigorous calculations at a much reduced computational cost.

Light trapping in thin-film silicon solar cells with photonic structures

Efficient photovoltaic conversion of solar energy requires optimization of both light absorption and carrier collection. This manuscript reviews theoretical studies of thin-film silicon solar cells with various kinds of ordered and disordered photonic structures. Light trapping capabilities of these systems are analyzed by means of rigorous coupled-wave analysis and compared with the so-called Lambertian limit as given by a fully randomizing light scatterer. The best photonic structures are found to require proper combinations of order and disorder, and can be fabricated starting from pre-patterned rough substrates. Carrier collection is studied by means of analytic models and by full electro-optical simulations. The results indicate that thin-film silicon solar cells can outperform bulk ones with comparable material quality, provided surface recombination is kept below a critical level, which is compatible with present-day surface passivation technologies.