Performance Analysis of Thin-Film Crystalline Silicon-on-Glass Solar Cells

Performance limits of a heterojunction thin-film crystalline silicon on a glass solar cell (SC) in a substrate configuration were analyzed using the computer simulation program “Advanced Semiconductor Analysis” from the Delft University of Technology. The role of light trapping, due to scattering at randomly rough interfaces, on the absorption in the individual layers of the SC was investigated. The effect of the crystalline silicon absorber thickness, quality and passivation on the external parameters of the SC was evaluated. Using light trapping, the efficiency of an SC with 1- and 10-μm-thick c-Si absorber with a minority carrier lifetime of 10 ^-4 s and a surface recombination velocity of 10 ^-1m/s can achieve 13.8% and 17.8%, respectively.