Highly Reflective Dielectric Back Reflector for Improved Efficiency of Tandem Thin-Film Solar Cells
We report on the prototyping and development of a highly reflective dielectric back reflector for application in thin-film solar cells. The back reflector is fabricated by Snow Globe Coating (SGC), an innovative, simple, and cheap process to deposit a uniform layer of TiO2 particles which shows rema...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2016-01-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7390974 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832552582668615680 |
|---|---|
| author | Chog Barugkin Ulrich W. Paetzold Kylie R. Catchpole Angelika Basch Reinhard Carius |
| author_facet | Chog Barugkin Ulrich W. Paetzold Kylie R. Catchpole Angelika Basch Reinhard Carius |
| author_sort | Chog Barugkin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We report on the prototyping and development of a highly reflective dielectric back reflector for application in thin-film solar cells. The back reflector is fabricated by Snow Globe Coating (SGC), an innovative, simple, and cheap process to deposit a uniform layer of TiO2 particles which shows remarkably high reflectance over a broad spectrum (average reflectance of 99% from 500 nm to 1100 nm). We apply the highly reflective back reflector to tandem thin-film silicon solar cells and compare its performance with conventional ZnO:Al/Ag reflector. By using SGC back reflector, an enhancement of 0.5 mA/cm2 in external quantum efficiency of the bottom solar cell and an absolute value of 0.2% enhancement in overall power conversion efficiency are achieved. We also show that the increase in power conversion efficiency is due to the reduction of parasitic absorption at the back contact; that is, the use of the dielectric reflector avoids plasmonic losses at the reference ZnO:Al/Ag back reflector. The Snow Globe Coating process is compatible with other types of solar cells such as crystalline silicon, III–V, and organic photovoltaics. Due to its cost effectiveness, stability, and excellent reflectivity above a wavelength of 400 nm, it has high potential to be applied in industry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9e2971871096421a82d02d3080a2186d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1110-662X 1687-529X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| spelling | doaj-art-9e2971871096421a82d02d3080a2186d2025-02-03T05:58:19ZengWileyInternational Journal of Photoenergy1110-662X1687-529X2016-01-01201610.1155/2016/73909747390974Highly Reflective Dielectric Back Reflector for Improved Efficiency of Tandem Thin-Film Solar CellsChog Barugkin0Ulrich W. Paetzold1Kylie R. Catchpole2Angelika Basch3Reinhard Carius4The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, AustraliaKarlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, GermanyThe Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, AustraliaUpper Austrian University of Applied Science, 4600 Wels, AustriaForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanyWe report on the prototyping and development of a highly reflective dielectric back reflector for application in thin-film solar cells. The back reflector is fabricated by Snow Globe Coating (SGC), an innovative, simple, and cheap process to deposit a uniform layer of TiO2 particles which shows remarkably high reflectance over a broad spectrum (average reflectance of 99% from 500 nm to 1100 nm). We apply the highly reflective back reflector to tandem thin-film silicon solar cells and compare its performance with conventional ZnO:Al/Ag reflector. By using SGC back reflector, an enhancement of 0.5 mA/cm2 in external quantum efficiency of the bottom solar cell and an absolute value of 0.2% enhancement in overall power conversion efficiency are achieved. We also show that the increase in power conversion efficiency is due to the reduction of parasitic absorption at the back contact; that is, the use of the dielectric reflector avoids plasmonic losses at the reference ZnO:Al/Ag back reflector. The Snow Globe Coating process is compatible with other types of solar cells such as crystalline silicon, III–V, and organic photovoltaics. Due to its cost effectiveness, stability, and excellent reflectivity above a wavelength of 400 nm, it has high potential to be applied in industry.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7390974 |
| spellingShingle | Chog Barugkin Ulrich W. Paetzold Kylie R. Catchpole Angelika Basch Reinhard Carius Highly Reflective Dielectric Back Reflector for Improved Efficiency of Tandem Thin-Film Solar Cells International Journal of Photoenergy |
| title | Highly Reflective Dielectric Back Reflector for Improved Efficiency of Tandem Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_full | Highly Reflective Dielectric Back Reflector for Improved Efficiency of Tandem Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_fullStr | Highly Reflective Dielectric Back Reflector for Improved Efficiency of Tandem Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Highly Reflective Dielectric Back Reflector for Improved Efficiency of Tandem Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_short | Highly Reflective Dielectric Back Reflector for Improved Efficiency of Tandem Thin-Film Solar Cells |
| title_sort | highly reflective dielectric back reflector for improved efficiency of tandem thin film solar cells |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7390974 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chogbarugkin highlyreflectivedielectricbackreflectorforimprovedefficiencyoftandemthinfilmsolarcells AT ulrichwpaetzold highlyreflectivedielectricbackreflectorforimprovedefficiencyoftandemthinfilmsolarcells AT kyliercatchpole highlyreflectivedielectricbackreflectorforimprovedefficiencyoftandemthinfilmsolarcells AT angelikabasch highlyreflectivedielectricbackreflectorforimprovedefficiencyoftandemthinfilmsolarcells AT reinhardcarius highlyreflectivedielectricbackreflectorforimprovedefficiencyoftandemthinfilmsolarcells |