Enhanced absorption of thin-film photovoltaic cells using an optical cavity

Weinstein, Lee A.; Hsu, Wei-Chun; Yerci, Selçuk; Boriskina, Svetlana V.; Chen, Gang

doi:10.1088/2040-8978/17/5/055901

Title: Enhanced absorption of thin-film photovoltaic cells using an optical cavity

Journal Article · Fri Apr 17 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Optics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2040-8978/17/5/055901· OSTI ID:1385319

Weinstein, Lee A. ^[1]; Hsu, Wei-Chun ^[1]; Yerci, Selçuk ^[2]; Boriskina, Svetlana V. ^[1]; Chen, Gang ^[1]

Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; Middle East Technical Univ., Ankara (Turkey). Micro and Nanotechnology Programme

We show here via numerical simulations that the absorption and solar energy conversion efficiency of a thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cell can be significantly enhanced by embedding it into an optical cavity. A reflective hemi-ellipsoid with an aperture for sunlight placed over a tilted PV cell reflects unabsorbed photons back to the cell, allowing for multiple opportunities for absorption. Ray tracing simulations predict that with the proposed cavity a textured thin-film silicon cell can exceed the Yablonovitch (Lambertian) limit for absorption across a broad wavelength range, while the performance of the cavity-embedded planar PV cell approaches that of the cell with the surface texturing.

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Research Organization:: Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Solid-State Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion Center (S3TEC)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0001299; FG02-09ER46577; EE0005320

OSTI ID:: 1385319

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1358293

Journal Information:: Journal of Optics, Vol. 17, Issue 5; ISSN 2040-8978

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 20 works

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Towards 30% Power Conversion Efficiency in Thin-Silicon Photonic-Crystal Solar Cells Bhattacharya, Sayak; Baydoun, Ibrahim; Lin, Mi Physical Review Applied, Vol. 11, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.11.014005	journal	January 2019
Wafer-Scale Integration of Inverted Nanopyramid Arrays for Advanced Light Trapping in Crystalline Silicon Thin Film Solar Cells Zhou, Suqiong; Yang, Zhenhai; Gao, Pingqi Nanoscale Research Letters, Vol. 11, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-016-1397-6	journal	April 2016

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