EAPSI: Design of Ultra-thin Nanostructured Silicon Solar Cells: Coupled Optical and Electrical Modeling

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Ultra-thin silicon solar cells are promising candidates for future generations of photovoltaic devices due to decreased material cost and higher performance. However, poor light absorption in silicon necessitates the use of light-enhancement methods. The Solar Power Lab at Arizona State University has previously developed a repeatable, large-area nanostructuring process for increasing light absorption in thin silicon substrates. What is presently needed is predictive theoretical modeling to guide development of a device fabrication process that experimentally investigates the suitability of nanostructured silicon in high-efficiency solar cells. The proposed project is to work with Dr. Stephen Bremner, a noted expert in design and fabrication of third generation silicon solar cells, at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia to create and optimize coupled optical and electrical models of ultra-thin nanostructured silicon solar cells. The project will utilize the empirically calibrated optical models of nanostructured substrates using finite difference time domain (FDTD) numerical methods to obtain the optical generation rate in the substrate. The optical generation rate will then be input into device models based on thick silicon solar cells to evaluate optical gains when conventional microtexturing methods are replaced with nanotexturing. Then, the project will analyze alternative solar cells designs based on ultra-thin silicon solar cells where conventional microtexturing is no longer a viable option due to large feature size compared to the thickness of the substrate. Finally, the project will analyze and iteratively refine the coupled optical and electrical model and identify potential designs for experimental verification in the lab. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Australian Academy of Science. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Australian Academy of Science.