A New Class of Light-Traps for Nano-enhanced Photovoltaic Conversion

Rather than considering light as passing through a PN junction we paradigm shift to a new class of traps in which the light travels along a PN junction, as a guided mode. Significantly this opens the door to importing energy from elsewhere and mode coupling it directly into the PN junction. The theoretical basis for this mode trapping is explored. We also create new simulation tools, which allow experimental data to be incorporated, in order to improve our understanding of the underlying processes and to aid in the optimization of nanophotonic devices. We consider devices with non-conductive nanoparticles and/or plasmonics as top-reflectors; used in conjunction with periodic and/or pseudo-random photonic crystal back-reflectors. The nonlinear effects of saturation allow us to clamp the electromagnetic modes to produce a uniform distribution of power across the photovoltaic surface for dimensions as large as we wish. Keywords-solar energy; photovoltaic systems.