Sunlight-thin nanophotonic monocrystalline silicon solar cells
Other text in scientific journal, 2017
Introducing nanophotonics into photovoltaics sets the path for scaling down the surface texture of crystalline-silicon solar cells from the micro-to the nanoscale, allowing to further boost the photon absorption while reducing silicon material loss. However, keeping excellent electrical performance has proven to be very challenging, as the absorber is damaged by the nanotexturing and the sensitivity to the surface recombination is dramatically increased. Here we realize a light-wavelength-scale nanotextured monocrystalline silicon cell with the confirmed efficiency of 8.6% and an effective thickness of only 830 nm. For this we adopt a self-assembled large-area and industry-compatible amorphous ordered nanopatterning, combined with an advanced surface passivation, earning strongly enhanced solar light absorption while retaining efficient electron collection. This prompts the development of highly efficient flexible and semitransparent photovoltaics, based on the industrially mature monocrystalline silicon technology.
Colloidal lithography
Nanophotonics
Crystalline-silicon film
Light trapping
Photovoltaics
Author
V. Depauw
Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Center at Leuven
C. Trompoukis
KU Leuven
Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Center at Leuven
Ghent university
Ines Massiot
Chalmers, Physics, Bionanophotonics
W. H. Chen
University Paris-Saclay
Alexander Dmitriev
Stanford University
University of Gothenburg
P. R. I. Cabarrocas
University Paris-Saclay
I. Gordon
Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Center at Leuven
J. Poortmans
Heart Center Hasselt
KU Leuven
Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Center at Leuven
Nano Futures
23991984 (eISSN)
Vol. 1 2 021001Nanophotonics for ultra-thin crystalline silicon photovoltaics (PHOTONVOLTAICS)
European Commission (EC) (EC/FP7/309127), 2012-11-01 -- 2015-10-31.
Subject Categories
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
Other Physics Topics
Bioengineering Equipment
DOI
10.1088/2399-1984/aa7d7c