Improving metal reflectors by suppressing surface plasmon polaritons: a priori calculation of the internal reflectance of a solar cell
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Improving metal reflectors by suppressing surface plasmon polaritons: a priori calculation of the internal reflectance of a solar cell
Improving metal reflectors by suppressing surface plasmon polaritons: a priori calculation of the internal reflectance of a solar cell
LSA2013年2卷第3-4期
Affiliations:
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Author bio:
Professor Z Holman, Arizona State University, PO Box 875706, Tempe, AZ 85827-5706, USA E-mail: zachary.holman@asu.edu
Improving metal reflectors by suppressing surface plasmon polaritons: a priori calculation of the internal reflectance of a solar cell[J]. LSA, 2013,2(3-4).
Holman, Z. C., De Wolf, S. & Ballif, C. Improving metal reflectors by suppressing surface plasmon polaritons: a priori calculation of the internal reflectance of a solar cell. Light: Science & Applications, 2, e106 (2013).
Improving metal reflectors by suppressing surface plasmon polaritons: a priori calculation of the internal reflectance of a solar cell[J]. LSA, 2013,2(3-4). DOI: 10.1038/lsa.2013.62.
Holman, Z. C., De Wolf, S. & Ballif, C. Improving metal reflectors by suppressing surface plasmon polaritons: a priori calculation of the internal reflectance of a solar cell. Light: Science & Applications, 2, e106 (2013). DOI: 10.1038/lsa.2013.62.
Improving metal reflectors by suppressing surface plasmon polaritons: a priori calculation of the internal reflectance of a solar cell
Imperfect internal reflectance of near-bandgap light reduces the performance of all solar cells
and becomes increasingly detrimental as absorbers become thinner. We consider light incident on the silicon/dielectric/metal structure at the back of rear-
passivated crystalline silicon solar cells with surface textures that are large enough for geometric optics. By calculating the absorbance in the metal as a function of the angle of incidence
we discover three results that are important for understanding and improving rear reflectors in many types of solar cells. First
significant parasitic absorption occurs in the metal layer in two cases:
s
- and
p
-polarized propagating modes (near-normal angles of incidence) when the dielectric thickness is adjusted to cause destructive interference of the reflected beams
and
p
-polarized evanescent modes (angles of incidence above the semiconductor/dielectric critical angle) that excite surface plasmon polaritons at the metal surface. Second
the latter loss dominates; a well-designed rear dielectric passivation layer must suppress the penetration of evanescent waves to the metal. Third
when used as an input in a simple analytical model
the average rear internal reflectance calculated by assuming a Lambertian angular distribution of light accurately predicts the total reflectance and absorbance of a solar cell.
关键词
Keywords
light trappingphotovoltaicsplasmonsilicon; solar cell
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