Simulation of silicon thin-film solar cells for oblique incident waves

Christine Jandl; Kai Hertel; Christoph Pflaum; Helmut Stiebig

doi:10.1117/12.882860

19 April 2011 Simulation of silicon thin-film solar cells for oblique incident waves

Christine Jandl, Kai Hertel, Christoph Pflaum, Helmut Stiebig

Proceedings Volume 8065, SPIE Eco-Photonics 2011: Sustainable Design, Manufacturing, and Engineering Workforce Education for a Green Future; 806505 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.882860
Event: SPIE Eco-Photonics, 2011, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

To optimize the quantum efficiency (QE) and short-circuit current density (J_SC) of silicon thin-film solar cells, one has to study the behavior of sunlight in these solar cells. Simulations are an adequate and economic method to analyze the optical properties of light caused by absorption and reflection. To this end a simulation tool is developed to take several demands into account. These include the analysis of perpendicular and oblique incident waves under E-, H- and circularly polarized light. Furthermore, the topology of the nanotextured interfaces influences the efficiency and therefore also the short-circuit current density. It is well known that a rough transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer increases the efficiency of solar cells. Therefore, it is indispensable that various roughness profiles at the interfaces of the solar cell layers can be modeled in such a way that atomic force microscope (AFM) scan data can be integrated. Numerical calculations of Maxwell's equations based on the finite integration technique (FIT) and Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method are necessary to incorporate all these requirements. The simulations are performed in parallel on high performance computers (HPC) to meet the large computational requirements.

Citation Download Citation

Christine Jandl, Kai Hertel, Christoph Pflaum, and Helmut Stiebig "Simulation of silicon thin-film solar cells for oblique incident waves", Proc. SPIE 8065, SPIE Eco-Photonics 2011: Sustainable Design, Manufacturing, and Engineering Workforce Education for a Green Future, 806505 (19 April 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.882860

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