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

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2015-05-01

Author

Weinstein, Lee A.
HSU, Wei-Chun
Yerci, Selçuk
Boriskina, Svetlana V.
CHEN, Gang

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We show 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.

Subject Keywords

Photovoltaics, Light trapping, Ray tracing

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/32002

Journal

JOURNAL OF OPTICS

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1088/2040-8978/17/5/055901

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Article

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Citation Formats

L. A. Weinstein, W.-C. HSU, S. Yerci, S. V. Boriskina, and G. CHEN, “Enhanced absorption of thin-film photovoltaic cells using an optical cavity,” JOURNAL OF OPTICS, pp. 0–0, 2015, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/32002.