Optical design of thin film amorphous silicon solar cells

Author

Zhu, Furong ; Singh, Jai

Author_Institution

Fac. of Sci., Northern Territory Univ., Casuarina, NT, Australia

fYear

1993

fDate

10-14 May 1993

Firstpage

1047

Lastpage

1050

Abstract

Optimised thicknesses of the individual layers in any thin film a-Si:H solar cell can be obtained using optical analysis methods. By minimising the reflectance using an optimal antireflection coating layer and selecting a suitable rear contact material, a significant increase in the photon collection efficiency at long wavelengths can be achieved. The effect of the variation in thicknesses of different layers on the performance characteristics of a cell is discussed. The calculated results and analyses show that the present method can be used directly to design any thin film solar cell with an optimised structure for a desired possible high efficiency

Keywords

amorphous semiconductors; antireflection coatings; electrical contacts; elemental semiconductors; hydrogen; optical design techniques; semiconductor device models; semiconductor doping; semiconductor thin films; silicon; solar cells; Si:H; antireflection coating; long wavelength; model; optical analysis methods; optical design; performance characteristics; photon collection efficiency; rear contact material; semiconductor; thicknesses; thin film a-Si:H solar cell; Amorphous silicon; Coatings; Optical design; Optical films; Optical materials; Optimization methods; Photovoltaic cells; Reflectivity; Semiconductor thin films; Transistors;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1993., Conference Record of the Twenty Third IEEE

Conference_Location

Louisville, KY

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1220-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1993.346980

Filename

346980