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New Solar Cells with Novel Light Trapping via Textured Photonic Crystal Back Reflector

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Lirong Zeng ,
Yasha Yi ,
Ching-yin Hong ,
Bernard A. Alamariu ,
Jifeng Liu ,
Xiaoman Duan  and
Lionel C. Kimerling
Lirong Zeng
Affiliation:
lrzengcn@mit.edu, MIT, Materials Science and Engineering, Room 13-4138,, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States, (617) 253-3157, (617) 253-6782
Yasha Yi
Affiliation:
yys@mit.edu, MIT, Materials Science and Engineering, United States
Ching-yin Hong
Affiliation:
cyhong@mit.edu, MIT, Materials Science and Engineering, United States
Bernard A. Alamariu
Affiliation:
bernard@mtl.mit.edu, MIT, Microsystems Technology Laboratories, United States
Jifeng Liu
Affiliation:
jfliu01@mit.edu, MIT, Materials Science and Engineering, United States
Xiaoman Duan
Affiliation:
xduan@mit.edu, MIT, Materials Science and Engineering, United States
Lionel C. Kimerling
Affiliation:
lckim@mit.edu, MIT, Materials Science and Engineering, United States
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Abstract

We have successfully developed a new light-trapping scheme for solar cells that can enhance the optical path length by more than 104 times using a textured photonic crystal structure as a backside reflector. Top-contacted crystalline Si solar cells integrated with the new back reflector were designed, fabricated and characterized. Both external quantum efficiency and power conversion efficiency of the cells have shown significant improvement due to the path length enhancement furnished by the new back reflector despite of the 675 um thick wafers and relatively short minority carrier diffusion length.

Keywords

absorptionoptoelectronicphotovoltaic

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References

REFERENCES

[1] Green, M. A., Silicon Solar Cells, Advanced Principles & Practice, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 1995.Google Scholar
[2] Zeng, L., Yi, Y., Hong, C., Duan, X. and Kimerling, L. C., Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc., 862, 381(2005).Google Scholar
[3] Henry, C. H., J. Appl. Phys., 51, 4494 (1980).Google Scholar
[4] Nelson, J., The Physics of Solar Cells, World Scientific Publishing Co., Inc., 2003.Google Scholar
[5] Zeng, L., Yi, Y., Hong, C., Alamariu, B. A., Liu, J., Duan, X., and Kimerling, L. C., to be submitted to Appl. Phys. Lett‥Google Scholar