Black Silicon Solar Thin-film Microcells Integrating Top Nanocone Structures for Broadband and Omnidirectional Light-Trapping

TL;DR

This paper introduces a nanocone forest structure on black silicon microcells that significantly enhances broadband, omnidirectional light trapping, leading to notable efficiency improvements in thin-film solar cells.

Contribution

It presents a lithography-free, high-throughput plasma texturizing process to create nanocone forests on ultra-thin silicon microcells, boosting their photovoltaic performance.

Findings

Short circuit current increased by up to 65.7%.

Conversion efficiency improved from 8% to 11.5%.

Black silicon microcells achieved broadband and omnidirectional light trapping.

Abstract

Recently developed classes of monocrystalline silicon solar microcells (u-cell) can be assembled into modules with characteristics (i.e., mechanically flexible forms, compact concentrator designs, and high-voltage outputs) that would be impossible to achieve using conventional, wafer-based approaches. In this paper, we describe a highly dense, uniform and non-periodic nanocone forest structure of black silicon (bSi) created on optically-thin (30 um) u-cells for broadband and omnidirectional light-trapping with a lithography-free and high-throughput plasma texturizing process. With optimized plasma etching conditions and a silicon nitride passivation layer, black silicon u-cells, when embedded in a polymer waveguiding layer, display dramatic increases of as much as 65.7% in short circuit current, as compared to a bare silicon device. The conversion efficiency increases from 8% to 11.5% with a small drop in open circuit voltage and fill factor.