Enhanced absorption of thin-film photovoltaic cells using an optical cavity
JOURNAL OF OPTICS, cilt.17, sa.5, 2015 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 17 Sayı: 5
- Basım Tarihi: 2015
- Doi Numarası: 10.1088/2040-8978/17/5/055901
- Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF OPTICS
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
- Anahtar Kelimeler: photovoltaics, light trapping, ray tracing, SOLAR-CELLS, FUNDAMENTAL LIMIT, PERFORMANCE, EFFICIENCY, COST
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
We show via numerical simulations that the absorption and solar energy conversion efficiency of a thin-film photovoltaic (PV) cell can be significantly enhanced by embedding it into an optical cavity. A reflective hemi-ellipsoid with an aperture for sunlight placed over a tilted PV cell reflects unabsorbed photons back to the cell, allowing for multiple opportunities for absorption. Ray tracing simulations predict that with the proposed cavity a textured thin-film silicon cell can exceed the Yablonovitch (Lambertian) limit for absorption across a broad wavelength range, while the performance of the cavity-embedded planar PV cell approaches that of the cell with the surface texturing.