Silicon solar cell light-trapping using defect mode photonic crystals

Kelsey A. Whitesell; Dennis M. Callahan; Harry Atwater

doi:10.1117/12.2005450

25 March 2013 Silicon solar cell light-trapping using defect mode photonic crystals

Kelsey A. Whitesell, Dennis M. Callahan, Harry Atwater

Proceedings Volume 8620, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices II; 86200D (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2005450
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2013, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Nanostructured active or absorbing layers of solar cells, including photonic crystals and wire arrays, have been increasingly explored as potential options to enhance performance of thin film solar cells because of their unique ability to control light. We show that 2D photonic crystals can improve light trapping by an enhanced density of optical states and improved incoupling, and demonstrate, using FDTD simulation, absorption enhancements in 200nm thick crystalline silicon solar cells of up to 205% from λ = 300nm to 1100nm compared to a planar cell with an optimized two-layer antireflection coating. We report here a method to further enhance absorption by introducing a lattice of coupled defect modes into the photonic crystal, which modify the available optical states in the absorber. Our results show that 2D photonic crystals are a viable and rich research option for light trapping in thin film photovoltaics.

Citation Download Citation

Kelsey A. Whitesell, Dennis M. Callahan, and Harry Atwater "Silicon solar cell light-trapping using defect mode photonic crystals", Proc. SPIE 8620, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices II, 86200D (25 March 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2005450

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