Light scattering properties of surface-textured substrates

Abstract

Light trapping in state-of-the-art thin-film silicon solar cells is accomplished by scattering of light at rough interfaces. Further enhancement of light absorption in the absorber layers can be achieved by optimizing the scattering via designing the morphology of these interfaces. The haze parameter and the angular intensity distribution of the scattered light were measured. The angular intensity measurements were carried out with variable angle spectrometry, allowing wavelengths in the visible and near infrared range. The measurements revealed new insights regarding the strong effects of the substrate surface roughness and morphology on the wavelength dependent variations of the angular intensity distribution.