Statistical Analysis of Surface Nanopatterned Thin Film Solar Cells Obtained by Inverse Optimization

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shima Hajimirza ◽  
John R. Howell
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Absorption ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Inverse Optimization ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Absorption Enhancement ◽  
Metallic Surface ◽  
Fabrication Error

This work is a statistical study of the broadband light absorption in thin film solar cells, enhanced by metallic surface nanotexturing. We consider optimum grating structures on the surface of amorphous silicon solar cells obtained by inverse optimization, and study the joint statistics of the resulting absorption enhancement/spectra in the presence of time and structural variants, such as fabrication error and year around changes in the solar irradiance, as well as the angle of incident. We adopt yearly data for solar irradiation at individual hours. In conjunction with the data for light absorption spectra at various incident angles and random samples of the fabrication error vector, we evaluate the real world performance of optimized solar cells. The resulting conclusions serve as a sensitivity/time analysis for better understanding the limits of performance and robustness of thin film cells and optimal light trapping mechanisms.

Light Absorption Enhancement in Thin-Film Solar Cells Using Whispering Gallery Modes in Dielectric Nanospheres

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 1272-1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Grandidier ◽  
Dennis M. Callahan ◽  
Jeremy N. Munday ◽  
Harry A. Atwater
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Absorption ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Whispering Gallery Modes ◽  
Absorption Enhancement ◽  
Whispering Gallery

Wavelet Based Nano-Texture Structures for Thin Film PV Cells

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shima Hajimirza ◽  
John R. Howell
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Front Surface ◽  
Numerical Approach ◽  
Inverse Optimization ◽  
Absorption Enhancement ◽  
Metallic Surface ◽  
Periodic Patterns ◽  
Orthonormal Bases ◽  
Finite Set

Light trapping is an important technique in increasing the efficiency of solar cells. Inverse optimization is a systematic numerical approach that allows us to find the limits of light trapping more efficiently. It is an alternative to exhaustive search simulations or experimental measurements. In this work, we use inverse optimization to study light trapping in thin film amorphous silicon cells textured by periodic patterns of metallic surface grating. We use a finite set of Haar wavelets to describe a general form of grating structure composed of multiple rectangular nano-strips. We use global simulated annealing optimization to find the coefficients of the wavelets basis for optimal absorption enhancement in thin film silicon. The motivation for choosing wavelet basis (vis-a-vis other orthonormal bases such as Fourier) is the feasibility of fabricating the resulting nano-structures. The resulting improvement in the number of absorbed photons is around 130% for wavelength range of 300–700nm, which is significantly better than the previous results using simple front surface nano-strips. In addition, we use statistical analysis to evaluate the sensitivity of the characteristics of the resulting structure to numerical uncertainties.

Absorption Enhancement in Plasmonic Solar Cells by Incorporation of Periodic Nanopatterns

2011 ◽  
Vol 1322 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Wang ◽  
S. Wu ◽  
Y.L. Lu ◽  
Kitt Reinhardt ◽  
S.C. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Absorption ◽  
Solar Spectrum ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Absorption Enhancement ◽  
Enhancement Effect ◽  
Broadband Absorption ◽  
Polarization Insensitive ◽  
Plasmonic Solar Cells

ABSTRACTCurrently, the performances of thin film solar cells are limited by poor light absorption and carrier collection. In this research, large, broadband, and polarization-insensitive light absorption enhancement was realized via incorporation of different periodic nanopetterns. By studying the enhancement effect brought by different materials, dimensions, coverage, and dielectric environments of the metal nanopatterns, we analyzed the absorption enhancement mechanisms as well as optimization criteria for our designs. A test for totaling the absorption over the solar spectrum shows an up to ∼30% broadband absorption enhancement when comparing to conventional thin film cells.

scholarly journals Plasmonic Nanostructure for Enhanced Light Absorption in Ultrathin Silicon Solar Cells

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinna He ◽  
Chunzhen Fan ◽  
Junqiao Wang ◽  
Yongguang Cheng ◽  
Pei Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Surface Plasmon ◽  
Light Absorption ◽  
Solar Spectrum ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Absorption Enhancement ◽  
Plasmonic Nanostructures ◽  
Cell Design

The performances of thin film solar cells are considerably limited by the low light absorption. Plasmonic nanostructures have been introduced in the thin film solar cells as a possible solution around this issue in recent years. Here, we propose a solar cell design, in which an ultrathin Si film covered by a periodic array of Ag strips is placed on a metallic nanograting substrate. The simulation results demonstrate that the designed structure gives rise to 170% light absorption enhancement over the full solar spectrum with respect to the bared Si thin film. The excited multiple resonant modes, including optical waveguide modes within the Si layer, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag stripes, and surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) arising from the bottom grating, and the coupling effect between LSPR and SPP modes through an optimization of the array periods are considered to contribute to the significant absorption enhancement. This plasmonic solar cell design paves a promising way to increase light absorption for thin film solar cell applications.

Absorption enhancement in a-Si thin-film solar cells based on silver nanopillar arrays

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-214
Author(s):  
Boyang Qu ◽  
Peng Zhang ◽  
Jianmin Luo ◽  
Shie Yang ◽  
Yongsheng Chen
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cell ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Absorption Enhancement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Si Thin Film ◽  
Nanopillar Arrays

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate a light-trapping structure based on Ag nanograting for amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin-film solar cell. Silver nanopillar arrays on indium tin oxide layer of the a-Si thin-film solar cells were designed. Design/methodology/approach The effects of the geometrical parameters such as nanopillar radius (R) and array period (P) were investigated by using the finite element simulation. Findings The optimization results show that the absorption of the solar cell with Ag nanopillar structure and anti-reflection film is enhanced up to 29.5 per cent under AM1.5 illumination in the 300- to 800-nm wavelength range compared with the reference cell. Furthermore, physical mechanisms of absorption enhancement at different wavelength range are discussed according to the electrical field amplitude distributions in the solar cells. Research limitations/implications The research is still in progress. Further studies mainly focus on the performance of solar cells with different nanograting materials. Practical implications This study provides a feasible method for light-trapping structure based on Ag nanograting for a-Si thin-film solar cell. Originality/value This study is promising for the design of a-Si thin-film solar cells with enhanced performance.

Light absorption enhancement in thin-film solar cells by embedded lossless silica nanoparticles

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 055005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baozeng Li ◽  
Jingquan Lin ◽  
Ji Lu ◽  
Xiaoxiao Su ◽  
Jie Li
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Silica Nanoparticles ◽  
Light Absorption ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Absorption Enhancement

scholarly journals Nanostructures for Light Trapping in Thin Film Solar Cells

Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalraj Peter Amalathas ◽  
Maan Alkaisi
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Absorption ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Incident Light ◽  
Electrical Current ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Plasmonic Nanostructures ◽  
Active Layer Thickness ◽  
The Cost

Thin film solar cells are one of the important candidates utilized to reduce the cost of photovoltaic production by minimizing the usage of active materials. However, low light absorption due to low absorption coefficient and/or insufficient active layer thickness can limit the performance of thin film solar cells. Increasing the absorption of light that can be converted into electrical current in thin film solar cells is crucial for enhancing the overall efficiency and in reducing the cost. Therefore, light trapping strategies play a significant role in achieving this goal. The main objectives of light trapping techniques are to decrease incident light reflection, increase the light absorption, and modify the optical response of the device for use in different applications. Nanostructures utilize key sets of approaches to achieve these objectives, including gradual refractive index matching, and coupling incident light into guided modes and localized plasmon resonances, as well as surface plasmon polariton modes. In this review, we discuss some of the recent developments in the design and implementation of nanostructures for light trapping in solar cells. These include the development of solar cells containing photonic and plasmonic nanostructures. The distinct benefits and challenges of these schemes are also explained and discussed.

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