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Efficiency enhancement via metal-coated porous amorphous silicon back reflectors incorporated in amorphous silicon solar cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2016

Shweta Bhandaru ,
Angelo Bozzola ,
Marco Liscidini  and
Sharon M. Weiss
Shweta Bhandaru
Affiliation:
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Material Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
Angelo Bozzola
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Pavia, via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
Marco Liscidini*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Pavia, via Bassi 6, I-27100 Pavia, Italy
Sharon M. Weiss*
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
*
Address all correspondence to S.M. Weiss at sharon.weiss@vanderbilt.edu and M. Liscidini at marco.liscidini@unipv.it
Address all correspondence to S.M. Weiss at sharon.weiss@vanderbilt.edu and M. Liscidini at marco.liscidini@unipv.it
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Abstract

We present two straightforward and cost-effective methods, based on metal-assisted chemical etching and a direct imprinting technique, to fabricate metal-covered porous amorphous silicon back reflectors for amorphous silicon solar cells. We demonstrate an increase of approximately 30% in both short-circuit current and overall efficiency with respect to a cell with a flat metal back reflector. This is achieved by implementing light trapping via either a roughened porous amorphous silicon layer or an imprinted periodic grating. This work provides a pathway to increase amorphous silicon solar cell efficiency via increased absorption without significantly impacting processing costs.

Type
Plasmonics, Photonics, and Metamaterials Research Letter
Information
MRS Communications , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 117 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016 

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