Photovoltaics : Light-Trapping in Crystalline Silicon and Thin-Film Solar Cells by Nanostructured Optical Coatings

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DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9783527696109.ch7
Reference P. Spinelli, B.K. Newman and A. Polman: Photovoltaics : Light-Trapping in Crystalline Silicon and Thin-Film Solar Cells by Nanostructured Optical Coatings In: Nanotechnology for Energy Sustainability /ed. B. Raj, M. Van de Voorde and Y. Mahajan, Weinheim: Wiley, 2017. - pp. 163-180
Group Photonic Materials

This chapter presents and compares different crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell designs that can benefit from nanostructured coatings, from the point of view of both light absorption (Jsc) and surface passivation (Voc). It presents and discusses the integration of surface Mie nanoscatterers to differenet types of c-Si solar cell architectures. The chapter also presents the application of resonant nanostructures to thin-film solar cell devices. It analyzes two thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technologies that can take advantage of resonant nanostructures: high-efficiency GaAs solar cells and low-cost polymer solar cells. The chapter gives an overview of other nanostructures concepts that allow improving the solar cell performance, including metal nanowire network electrodes, rear-side nanostructured reflectors, and new antireflection approaches for module glass. All the nanostructure designs presented in the chapter can be realized at the square kilometer level in a practical way by using novel nanoimprint techniques such as Substrate Conformal Imprint Lithography (SCIL).