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Improved optical transmission and current matching of a triple-junction solar cell utilizing sub-wavelength structures

M.-Y. Chiu, C.-H. Chang, M.-A. Tsai, F.-Y. Chang, and Peichen Yu

Open Access Open Access

Abstract

Sub-wavelength antireflective structures are fabricated on a silicon nitride passivation layer of a Ga0.5In0.5P/GaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cell using polystyrene nanosphere lithography followed by anisotropic etching. The fabricated structures enhance optical transmission in the ultraviolet wavelength range, compared to a conventional single-layer antireflective coating (ARC). The transmission improvement contributes to an enhanced photocurrent, which is also verified by the external quantum efficiency characterization of the fabricated solar cells. Under one-sun illumination, the short-circuit current of a cell with sub-wavelength structures is enhanced by 46.1% and 3.4% due to much improved optical transmission and current matching, compared to cells without an ARC and with a conventional SiNx ARC, respectively. Further optimizations of the sub-wavelength structures including the periodicity and etching depth are conducted by performing comprehensive calculations based on a rigorous couple-wave analysis method.

©2010 Optical Society of America

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Figures (3)
Fig. 1
Fig. 1 (a) A large-area scanning electron micrograph of nearly-close-packed polystyrene nanospheres with a 600 nm diameter deposited on SiNx; (b) the cross-sectional view of SiNx sub-wavelength structures resulting from two-step and (c) from one-step etching processes. A thin layer of SiNx ~100 nm thick is kept for passivation.

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Fig. 2
Fig. 2 (a) The measured reflectance spectra are plotted for cells with sub-wavelength structures (SWSs) and a conventional single-layer antireflective coating (SL ARC). The green symbol-line represents the calculated reflectance spectra according to the inset 7x7 array model. (b) The measured external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the Ga0.5In0.5P top cell and the GaAs middle cell with SWS, SL ARC and without ARC. The SWS cell shows higher EQEs for λ< 500 nm than the SL ARC cell, consistent with the observation in (a).

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Fig. 3
Fig. 3 The calculated reflectance spectra for the wavelength range of λ = 300 nm-1000 nm as a function of (a) the nanosphere diameter, and (b) the structural height. (c) The calculated short circuit current densities as a function of the diameter and height.

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Tables (1)

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Table 1 AM 1.5G Current-Voltage Characteristics of Solar Cells with Various Antireflective Coatings (ARCs)

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Equations (1)

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J s c = e h c ∫ 300 n m 1000 n m λ [ 1 − R ( λ ) ] I A M 1.5 G d λ
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