Interdigitated back-contacted structure: A different approach towards high-efficiency ultrathin copper indium gallium (di)selenide solar cells

An interdigitated back-contacted (IBC) configuration is proposed for submicron copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS). In a modelling platform, the structure was opto-electrically optimized for maximum efficiency. The results are compared with a reference front/back-contacted (FBC) solar cell with similar absorber thickness and exhibiting...

Textured back reflectors for thin-film silicon solar cells

The low conversion efficiency of thin-film silicon solar cells currently prevents them from competing, commercially, with the dominant crystalline silicon technology. The small thickness of the photo-active layer in thin-film silicon solar cells is an advantage for reducing raw material consumption and increasing industrial throughput, but...

Optical characterization of photovoltaic materials and structures for thin-film solar cells based on advanced texturization

Advanced texturization is a promising approach to increase the performance of thin-film solar cells. Currently, light trapping schemes implemented in state-of-the-art devices utilize randomly textured interfaces to increase their optical performance. Periodic gratings, however, have the potential to outperform their random counterparts and are...

Light management in thin-film silicon solar cells

Solar energy can fulfil mankind’s energy needs and secure a more balanced distribution of primary sources of energy. Wafer-based and thin-film silicon solar cells dominate todays’ photovoltaic market because silicon is a non-toxic and abundant material and high conversion efficiencies are achieved with silicon-based solar cells. To stay...

Optical modeling of thin-film silicon solar cells with submicron periodic gratings and nonconformal layers

In thin-film silicon solar cells (TFSC) efficient light management is essential in order to increase energy conversion efficiency. The application of nano-scale periodic gratings (PG) is a promising method to enhance absorption in the absorber layers of TFSC since they can efficiently scatter the incident light. Carefully designed gratings give...