T. Söderström

Plasmonic absorption in textured silver back reflectors of thin film solar cells

We study the influence of different textures and dielectric environments on the excitation of surface plasmon resonances on silver because textured metallic films often serve as back contacts of silicon thin film solar cells. For coupling between light and the surface plasmon excitation we use a periodic sinusoidal structure that enables us to sample the dispersion relation at well defined conditions with a simple spectral reflection measurement. We use three layer samples of amorphous silicon/ZnO/silver to mimic the behavior of the back contact in a thin film silicon solar cell; the measurements suggest that losses due to plasmon excitation can very well extend in the spectral region where optimum reflectance is desired. An appropriate thickness of ZnO is able to reduce absorption losses. Our findings on periodic structures are also found useful to explain the behavior of surface plasmon excitation on randomly textured ZnO/Ag reflector layers.

Optimization of amorphous silicon thin film solar cells for flexible photovoltaics

We investigate amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin film solar cells in the n-i-p or substrate configuration that allows the use of nontransparent and flexible substrates such as metal or plastic foils such as polyethylene- naphtalate (PEN). A substrate texture is used to scatter the light at each interface, which increases the light trapping in the active layer. In the first part, we investigate the relationship between the substrate morphology and the short circuit current, which can be increased by 20% compared to the case of flat substrate. In the second part, we investigate cell designs that avoid open-circuit voltage (Voc) and fill factor (FF) losses that are often observed on textured substrates. We introduce an amorphous silicon carbide n -layer (n-SiC), a buffer layer at the n/i interface, and show that the new cell design yields high Voc and FF on both flat and textured substrates. Furthermore, we investigate the relation between voids or nanocrack formations in the intrinsic layer and the textured substrate. It reveals that the initial growth of the amorphous layer is affected by the doped layer which itself is influenced by the textured substrate. Finally, the beneficial effect of our optical and electrical findings is used to fabricate a-Si:H solar cell on PEN substrate with an initial efficiency of 8.8% for an i -layer thickness of 270 nm.

Comparison and optimization of randomly textured surfaces in thin-film solar cells

Using rigorous diffraction theory we investigate the scattering properties of various random textures currently used for photon management in thin-film solar cells. We relate the haze and the angularly resolved scattering function of these cells to the enhancement of light absorption. A simple criterion is derived that provides an explanation why certain textures operate more beneficially than others. Using this criterion we propose a generic surface profile that outperforms the available substrates. This work facilitates the understanding of the effect of randomly textured surfaces and provides guidelines towards their optimization.

Silicon Filaments in Silicon Oxide for Next-Generation Photovoltaics

Nanometer wide silicon filaments embedded in an amorphous silicon oxide matrix are grown at low temperatures over a large area. The optical and electrical properties of these mixed-phase nanomaterials can be tuned independently, allowing for advanced light management in high efficiency thin-film silicon solar cells and for band-gap tuning via quantum confinement in third-generation photovoltaics.

Asymmetric intermediate reflector for tandem micromorph thin film silicon solar cells

The micromorph solar cell (stack of amorphous and microcrystalline cells) concept is the key for achieving high efficiency stabilized thin film silicon solar cells. We introduce a device structure that allows a better control of the light in-coupling into the two subcell components. It is based on an asymmetric intermediate reflector, which increases the effective thickness of the a-Si:H by a factor of more than three. Hence, the a- Si:H thickness reduction diminishes the light induced degradation, and micromorph tandem cells with 11.2% initial and 9.8% stabilized efficiencies (1000 h, 50 °C, and 100 mW/cm2) are made on plastic substrates with Tg<180 °C.

Flexible micromorph tandem a-Si/μc-Si solar cells

The deposition of a stack of amorphous (a-Si:H) and microcrystalline (μc-Si:H) tandem thin film silicon solar cells (micromorph) requires at least twice the time used for a single junction a-Si:H cell. However, micromorph devices have a higher potential efficiency, thanks to the broader absorption spectrum of μc-Si:H material. High efficiencies can only be achieved by mitigating the nanocracks in the μc-Si:H cell and the light-induced degradation of the a-Si:H cell. As a result, μc-Si:H cell has to grow on a smooth substrate with large periodicity (>1 μm) and the a-Si:H cell on sharp pyramids with smaller feature size (∼350 nm) to strongly scatter the light in the weak absorption spectra of a-Si:H material. The asymmetric intermediate reflector introduced in this work uncouples the growth and light scattering issues of the tandem micromorph solar cells. The stabilized efficiency of the tandem n-i-p/n-i-p micromorph is increased by a relative 15% compared to a cell without AIR and 32% in relative compared ...

Influence of the ZnO buffer on the guided mode structure in Si/ZnO/Ag multilayers

We present a study of the optical mode structure in metal-dielectric multilayer structures that represent amorphous silicon thin film solar cells with metallic back contact. Knowledge of the modal structure represents a first step toward describing absorption enhancement by the interface texture in solar cells. We present a method for determining experimentally the dispersion relations of multilayer films by coupling polarized light in a spectral reflection measurement to eigenmodes, using a one-dimensional sinusoidal grating. Because the used grating represents only a minor perturbation that establishes the coupling, the experimental data is well explained by the modal structure of a geometry with flat interfaces. On the basis of the measured mode structure, we propose an explanation for the beneficial effect of a low index buffer layer between the silicon absorber and the metallic back reflector.

Optimization of ZnO Front Electrodes for High-Efficiency Micromorph Thin-Film Si Solar Cells

The quest for increased performances in thin-film silicon micromorph tandem devices nowadays requires an increase of current density. This can be achieved with thin cells by combining both robust cell design and efficient light management schemes. In this paper, we identify three key requirements for the transparent conductive oxide electrodes. First, strong light scattering into large angles is needed on the entire useful wavelength range: A front electrode texture with large enough features is shown to grant a high total current (typically >26 mA/cm2 with a 2.4-μm-thick absorber material), while sharp features are reported to allow for high top cell current (>13 mA/cm2) and reduced reflection at the ZnO/Si interface. Second, sufficiently smooth substrate features are needed to guarantee a high quality of the silicon active material, ensuring good and stable electrical properties (typically Voc around 1.4 V). Third, conduction and transparency of electrodes must be cleverly balanced, requiring high transparent conductive oxide mobility (∼50 cm

Combined plasmonic and dielectric rear reflectors for enhanced photocurrent in solar cells

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N/I buffer layer for substrate microcrystalline thin film silicon solar cell

/V/s) to maintain the sheet resistance below 30 Ω/sq while keeping absorption as low as possible. Optimization of these three key requirements using ZnO electrodes allowed us to realize high-efficiency micromorph devices with 13.5% initial and 11.5% stabilized efficiency.