Designing High-Efficiency Thin Silicon Solar Cells Using Parabolic-Pore Photonic Crystals

Bhattacharya, Sayak; John, Sajeev

doi:10.1103/physrevapplied.9.044009

Designing High-Efficiency Thin Silicon Solar Cells Using Parabolic-Pore Photonic Crystals

Journal Article · Fri Apr 06 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Physical Review Applied

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.9.044009· OSTI ID:1540706

Bhattacharya, Sayak ^[1]; John, Sajeev ^[2]

Univ. of Toronto, ON (Canada). Dept. of Physics; DOE/OSTI
Univ. of Toronto, ON (Canada). Dept. of Physics

We demonstrate the efficacy of wave-interference-based light trapping and carrier transport in parabolic-pore photonic-crystal, thin-crystalline silicon (c -Si) solar cells to achieve above 29% power conversion efficiencies. Using a rigorous solution of Maxwell’s equations through a standard finite-difference time domain scheme, we optimize the design of the vertical-parabolic-pore photonic crystal (PhC) on a 10 μm -thick (c -Si) solar cell to obtain a maximum achievable photocurrent density (MAPD) of 40.6 mA/cm² beyond the ray-optical, Lambertian light-trapping limit. For a slanted-parabolic-pore PhC that breaks x-y symmetry, improved light trapping occurs due to better coupling into parallel-to-interface refraction modes. We achieve the optimum MAPD of 41.6 mA/cm² for a tilt angle of 10° with respect to the vertical axis of the pores. This MAPD is further improved to 41.72 mA/cm² by introducing a 75-nm SiO₂ antireflective coating on top of the solar cell. We use this MAPD and the associated charge-carrier generation profile as input for a numerical solution of Poisson’s equation coupled with semiconductor drift-diffusion equations using a Shockley-Read-Hall and Auger recombination model. Using experimentally achieved surface recombination velocities of 10 cm/s, we identify semiconductor doping profiles that yield power conversion efficiencies over 29%. Practical considerations of additional upper-contact losses suggest efficiencies close to 28%. This improvement beyond the current world record is largely due to an open-circuit voltage approaching 0.8 V enabled by reduced bulk recombination in our thin silicon architecture while maintaining a high short-circuit current through wave-interference-based light trapping.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: FG02-06ER46347

OSTI ID:: 1540706

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1432105

Journal Information:: Physical Review Applied, Journal Name: Physical Review Applied Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 9; ISSN 2331-7019; ISSN PRAHB2

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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