Abstract

3D photonic intermediate reflectors for textured a-Si:H/μc-Si:H tandem solar cells have been investigated. One challenge of optimizing the tandem solar cells is to generate a current matching between the amorphous top cell and the microcrystalline bottom cell. Since the cells are connected in series, the total current is limited by the lower a-Si:H cell‘s current. For an ideal photon management between top and bottom cell, a spectrally selective intermediate reflective layer (IRL) is necessary. We present a 3D inverted opal intermediate reflector incorporated in a state-of-the-art textured micromorph tandem solar cell and its optical and electro-optical properties.

© 2010 Optical Society of America