Disordered photonic structures for light harvesting in solar cells

Year: 2013

Authors: Pratesi F., Matteo Burresi, Francesco Riboli, Kevin Vynck, and Diederik S. Wiersma

Autors Affiliation: Filippo Pratesi,1 Matteo Burresi,1,2,* Francesco Riboli,1 Kevin Vynck,1,3 and Diederik S. Wiersma1,2

1European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy (LENS), Via N. Carrara 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy

2Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (CNR-INO), Largo Fermi 6, 50125 Firenze, Italy

3current address: Institut Langevin, ESPCI ParisTech, 1 rue Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France

Abstract: The effect of periodic and disordered photonic structures on the absorption efficiency of amorphous and crystalline Silicon thin-film solar cells is investigated numerically. We show that disordered patterns possessing a short-range correlation in the position of the holes yield comparable, or even superior, absorption enhancements than periodic (photonic crystal) patterns. This work provides clear evidence that non-deterministic photonic structures represent a viable alternative strategy for photon management in thin-film solar cells, thereby opening the route towards more efficient and potentially cheaper photovoltaic technologies.

Journal/Review: OPTICS EXPRESS

Volume: 21      Pages from: A460  to: A468

KeyWords: Light diffraction
Organic materials
Photonic crystals
Silicon solar cells
Thin film solar cells
Thin films
DOI: 10.1364/OE.21.00A460

Citations: 108
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