Solar Superabsorption of Semiconductor Materials

TL;DR

This paper establishes a theoretical fundamental limit for solar absorption in semiconductor nanostructures and introduces a new analytical model, CLMT, to guide the design of structures that approach this limit.

Contribution

It presents the solar superabsorption limit and introduces the coupled leaky mode theory (CLMT) for analyzing and designing light-trapping nanostructures.

Findings

Identified the fundamental volume limit for solar absorption in materials.

Developed CLMT as a universal tool for analyzing light absorption.

Provided principles for designing structures to approach superabsorption.

Abstract

We theoretically demonstrate the fundamental limit in volume for given materials (e.g. Si, a-Si, CdTe) to fully absorb the solar radiation above bandgap, which we refer as solar superabsorption limit. We also point out the general principles for experimentally designing light trapping structures to approach the superabsorption. This study builds upon an intuitive model, coupled leaky mode theory (CLMT), for the analysis of light absorption in nanostructures. The CLMT provides a useful variable transformation. Unlike the existing methods that rely on information of physical features (e.g. morphology, dimensionality) to analyze light absorption, the CLMT can evaluate light absorption in given materials with only two variables, the radiative loss and the resonant wavelength, of leaky modes, regardless the physical features of the materials. This transformation allows for surveying the entire variable space to find out the solar superabsorption and provides physical insights to guide the design of solar superabsorbing structures.