Investigation on light-trapping schemes in

crystalline silicon thin-film solar cell on glass

superstrate by ray tracer
Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 2203, 020032 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5142124
Published Online: 08 January 2020

Mohd Zamir Pakhuruddin

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© 2020 Author(s).
 Investigation on Light-Trapping Schemes in Crystalline
Silicon Thin-Film Solar Cell on Glass Superstrate by Ray
Tracer
Mohd Zamir Pakhuruddin
Nano-Optoelectronics Research and Technology Laboratory, School of Physics,
Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia.

Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract. This paper presents investigation on light-trapping (LT) schemes in monocrystalline silicon (mono c-Si) thin-
film solar cell on glass superstrate by ray tracer. In this work, solar cell with 20 µm c-Si thickness is studied. LT schemes
involving silicon nitride (SiNx) anti-reflective coating (ARC), rear pyramids and back surface reflector (BSR) have been
investigated. With incremental LT schemes, optical properties of the solar cell are analyzed within 300-1200 nm wavelength
region. From absorption curve, maximum short-circuit current density (Jmax) is calculated, assuming unity carrier
collection. From the ray tracing, planar reference solar cell exhibits Jmax of 25.70 mA/cm2. With SiNx ARC, the Jmax increases
to 30.52 mA/cm2. This is attributed to enhanced broadband light-coupling into the solar cell. When rear pyramids are
incorporated, the Jmax increases to 36.12 mA/cm2, due to increased long wavelength light scattering at the rear side of the
cell. When the above LT schemes are combined with SiO2 and Ag BSR, Jmax up to 37.73 mA/cm2 (46.8% enhancement) is
achieved. This is contributed by improved rear reflection and randomization of the long wavelength light by the BSR.
Approach to reach Lambertian absorption in the 20 μm c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate is also discussed.

Keywords: light-trapping, crystalline silicon, solar cell, ray tracer.

INTRODUCTION

Crystalline silicon (c-Si) thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate is a promising technology because it combines
material and technological advantages of c-Si wafers with benefits of thin-film technologies [1]. Besides, c-Si thin-
film solar cell on glass uses less absorber material by around 10 times if compared to the present wafer-based c-Si
solar cells (with thickness of 180 μm) [2]. Recently, c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate based on liquid-phase
crystallization has demonstrated conversion efficiency of up to 14% with open-circuit voltages (Voc) exceeding 600
mV [3]. However, the solar cell suffers from moderate photocurrent due to incomplete light absorption in the thin c-
Si absorber layer [4]. To increase the photocurrent (hence conversion efficiency), efficient light-trapping (LT) schemes
need to be incorporated into the device [5]. For efficient LT, few approaches have been used in industrial wafer-based
c-Si solar cells which can be adopted by c-Si thin-film solar cells on glass. For industrial mono c-Si solar cells, the
most common approach is by wet chemical texturing of c-Si surface with potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution at
around 90oC for a certain duration to produce upright random pyramids [6]. The pyramids reduce broadband reflection
(in 300-1200 nm wavelength region) from the c-Si absorber and scatter incident light into c-Si at various oblique
angles, improving LT in the solar cell. Besides, a thin anti-reflective coating (ARC) based on silicon nitride (SiNx) is

The 2nd International Conference on Applied Photonics and Electronics 2019 (InCAPE 2019)
AIP Conf. Proc. 2203, 020032-1–020032-8; https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5142124
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1954-4/$30.00

020032-1
deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on top of the pyramids to further suppress
broadband reflection from the solar cell [7]. This enhances light-coupling into the solar cell in 300-1200 nm
wavelength region. To prevent light transmission through the rear side of the solar cell, a back surface reflector (BSR)
such as aluminium (Al) or silver (Ag) layer can be deposited at the back of the cell [8]. The BSR reflects and
randomizes long wavelength light back into the solar cell for further absorption.

Ray tracing is a technique which involves a combination of Monte Carlo and thin-film optics to calculate
photocurrent and optical losses in solar cells within wavelength range of interest. The ray tracing weighs the
magnitudes of photogeneration and optical losses by the photon flux in solar spectrum, then integrates over the defined
wavelength, to calculate maximum photocurrent density (Jmax) from a solar cell or test structure [9]. Details on
calculation of Jmax and optical losses can be found in [10]. Ray tracing can be utilized to investigate LT schemes in c-
Si thin-film solar cells on glass superstrate. Results from the investigation can be optimized multiple times before the
actual solar cells are fabricated. This is vital to make sure high conversion efficiency of the solar cells can be realized
during the simulation phase, beside reducing cost associated with fabrication of the solar cells [11]. To date, to our
best knowledge, there is no work in the literature which reports on systematic investigation of LT schemes in c-Si
thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate (with 20 μm absorber thickness) using ray tracing. The investigation is
important to explore the potential of this technology when optimized LT schemes are incorporated.

In this work, LT schemes in mono c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate (with 20 μm absorber thickness)
are investigated by ray tracer. Three LT schemes which are incremental in nature are studied; SiNx ARC, rear upright
random pyramids and silicon dioxide (SiO2) and Ag BSR. Effects of the LT schemes towards reflection, transmission,
absorption and pathlength enhancement of the incident light in the solar cell are analyzed. From the absorption curve,
Jmax is calculated to relatively estimate the performance of the incremental LT schemes in the solar cell. The Jmax is
calculated within 300-1200 nm wavelength region, assuming unity carrier collection in the device. Finally, the highest
Jmax obtained in this work is compared with the Lambertian absorption for c-Si solar cell with 20 µm thickness and
approach towards theoretical limit of Jmax is discussed.

METHODOLOGY

In this work, ray tracing of LT schemes in c-Si thin-film solar cell (or test structure) on glass superstrate is
investigated using Wafer Ray Tracer by PV Lighthouse [10]. The solar cell has absorber thickness of 20 μm. Solar
spectrum of AM1.5G is used, at zero incident angle (i.e. normal to surface of solar cell). In superstrate orientation,
solar cell is illuminated through the glass. Note that front metal fingers are omitted in this work. During the ray tracing,
for each sample condition, maximum total rays of 50,000 are used (with 5,000 rays per run). The optical properties of
the solar cell are investigated in wavelength region of 300-1200 nm (with interval of 20 nm). Mono c-Si thin-film
solar cell on glass superstrate without LT scheme is used as a reference.

Figure 1 illustrates schematic diagrams of incremental LT schemes incorporated in the mono c-Si thin-film solar
cell on glass superstrate. Reference mono c-Si without LT scheme is shown in Fig. 1 (a). All the three LT schemes
(Fig. 1 (b) to (d)) are incremental in nature. This means that light absorption and photocurrent in the solar cell are
expected to increase by incorporating more LT schemes into the solar cell. Figure 1 (b) illustrates solar cell with a
front SiNx ARC. The ARC has refractive index (n) of 2.0 and thickness of 80 nm. With these parameters, the ARC is
expected to demonstrate quarter-wavelength anti-reflective effect, which will suppress broadband reflection,
particularly around wavelength of 600 nm, which is the peak of AM1.5G solar spectrum [12]. Figure 1 (c) shows
addition of rear random upright pyramids to the configuration. The pyramids have height of 4 μm and base angle of
54.7o, similar to properties of pyramids usually obtained in industrial mono c-Si wafers in solar cell manufacturing
[6]. The rear pyramids are expected to scatter long wavelength incident light which is not absorbed in the c-Si during
the first-pass. With the enhanced scattering, optical pathlength of the incident is expected to increase and the light will
be trapped and absorbed to produce higher photocurrent [13]. Figure 1 (d) demonstrates addition of 100 nm of SiO2
and 200 nm of Ag BSR on top of the rear pyramids. The BSR is used to reflect and randomize the long wavelength
light at the rear side of the solar cell [14]. The enhanced reflection and randomization will improve long wavelength
light absorption in the solar cell.

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 FIGURE 1. Schematic diagrams of incremental LT schemes in mono c-Si thin-film solar cell (with 20 μm thickness) on
glass superstrate. (a) Reference (no LT scheme) (b) With SiNx ARC (c) With SiNx ARC and rear pyramids (d) With SiNx ARC,
rear pyramids and SiO2 and Ag BSR.

During the ray tracing, reflection, transmission, absorption and pathlength enhancement of the incident light are
investigated and analyzed with incremental LT schemes. From the absorption result, LT performance of the solar cell
is assessed using Jmax. The Jmax is calculated by integrating the absorption curve over the AM1.5G solar spectrum for
wavelength 300-1200 nm (see Equation (1)) [15];

(1)

where q is the electron charge and S(λ) is the standard spectral photon density of sunlight for AM1.5G spectrum. In
this calculation, carrier collection is assumed to be unity (i.e. internal quantum efficiency, IQE=1).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 2 (a)-(c) show reflection, transmission and absorption curves for c-Si thin-film solar cell (with 20 µm
thickness) on glass superstrate with incremental LT schemes, within 300-1200 nm wavelength region. Reference solar
cell (without LT scheme) is included for comparison. Reference solar cell shows high broadband reflection throughout
the wavelength region. The reflection is about 20% at wavelength of 600 nm. This is contributed by high Fresnel
reflection at air-glass and glass-Si interfaces [16]. Transmission is high in the long wavelength region since most of
the low energy photons are not absorbed in a single-pass [17]. As a result, absorption is only up to 80% at wavelength
of 600 nm. When SiNx ARC is incorporated between glass-Si interface, the broadband reflection reduces significantly.
Reflection is near zero at 600-700 nm, owing to quarter-wavelength anti-reflection effect by the SiNx ARC [7]. In the
long wavelength region, transmission is slightly higher with the ARC (compared to the reference). This is due to
improved broadband light-coupling into the solar cell by the ARC [7]. This leads to enhanced broadband absorption
in the solar cell except below wavelength of 380 nm, which is attributed to parasitic absorption in the SiNx layer [18].

020032-3
 (a) (b)

(c)
FIGURE 2. (a) Reflection (b) transmission and (c) absorption curves for c-Si thin-film solar cell (with 20 μm thickness) on glass
superstrate with incremental LT schemes. Reference solar cell (without LT scheme) is included for comparison.

When rear pyramids are combined with front ARC, the broadband reflection remains the same except at
wavelength above 950 nm. Above this wavelength, the reflection is higher with the rear pyramids since long
wavelength light is randomly scattered at the rear side of the solar cell [13]. The enhanced scattering leads to higher
long wavelength reflection. Besides, with the rear pyramids, the transmission reduces from 78% to 34% at wavelength
of 1100 nm, due to the increased scattering. As a result, light absorption above wavelength of 700 nm increases, when
compared to the LT with ARC alone. When SiO2 and Ag BSR is incorporated behind the rear pyramids, reflection
above 1000 nm increases due to enhanced back reflection and randomization by the BSR [14]. Transmission reduces
to zero throughout the wavelength region since the BSR is an opaque layer. This results in a further enhanced long
wavelength light absorption (above wavelength of 700 nm) in the solar cell.

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 FIGURE 3. Optical pathlength enhancement (Z) in c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate with incremental LT schemes.
Reference solar cell (without LT scheme) is included for comparison.

Figure 3 demonstrates optical pathlength enhancement (Z) of the incident light in c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass
superstrate with incremental LT schemes. Reference solar cell (without LT scheme) is used for comparison. Optical
pathlength enhancement is calculated by normalizing the pathlength of the incident light in c-Si with LT scheme over
the pathlength of the incident light in reference c-Si (without LT scheme). Reference solar cell shows Z=1 throughout
the entire wavelength region, indicating a single-pass of the incident light through the c-Si thin-film. When front ARC
is incorporated between glass-Si interface, no change in the optical pathlength enhancement is observed. This is
expected since the ARC enhances light coupling into the solar cell without introducing any scattering at the glass-Si
interface [7]. Therefore, no pathlength enhancement is obtained. When pyramids are added at the rear side of the solar
cell, pathlength enhancement up to 15 is obtained at wavelength of 1100 nm. This is due to the enhanced light
scattering at the rear side of the solar cell, which causes the long wavelength light to experience total internal reflection
in the c-Si [13]. As a result, the long wavelength light absorption improves as previously shown in Fig. 2. Adding
BSR behind the pyramids enhances rear reflection and randomization of the long wavelength light [14] which results
in optical pathlength enhancement of up to 28 at wavelength of 1100 nm. The enhanced pathlength enhancement leads
to a further improvement in the long wavelength absorption in the solar cell. Theoretically, with an ideal BSR, the
optical pathlength of the incident light can be increased by a factor up to 4n 2, where n is the refractive index of the
semiconductor absorber. For c-Si (n=3.5), this allows Z of up to 50 times the device thickness, which indicates an
efficient LT scheme [19].

TABLE 1. Summary of Jmax of c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate with incremental LT schemes.
Reference solar cell (without LT scheme) is included for comparison. Jmax for each LT condition is the average
value obtained from ray tracing when maximum total rays of 50,000 are used. Standard deviation of the value is
also included.
LT Jmax (mA/cm2) Jmax enhancement (%)
Reference 25.70 ± 0.08 -
ARC 30.52 ± 0.09 18.8
ARC + Pyramids 36.12 ± 0.09 40.5
ARC + Pyramids + BSR 37.73 ± 0.08 46.8

Table 1 summarizes the calculated Jmax of c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate with incremental LT
schemes. Reference solar cell (without LT scheme) is included for comparison. Note that Jmax for each LT condition
is the average value obtained from ray tracing with maximum total rays of 50,000. Standard deviation of the value is
also included in the table. Jmax enhancement is calculated by normalizing the J max of each LT condition to the Jmax of
the reference solar cell (without LT scheme). The reference c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate has Jmax of

020032-5
25.70 mA/cm2. With SiNx ARC, the Jmax increases to 30.52 mA/cm2. This is 18.8% enhancement compared to the
reference cell. As previously discussed, the enhancement is due to the improved broadband light absorption in the
absorber layer by the ARC [7]. When rear pyramids are incorporated at the back of the cell, the Jmax increases to 36.12
mA/cm2 (or 40.5% enhancement). This is attributed to the enhanced light scattering for the long wavelength light
which reaches the back of the solar cell at the pyramid-air interface [13]. With BSR behind the rear pyramids, the Jmax
increases to 37.73 mA/cm2, or 46.8% enhancement compared to the reference solar cell, owing to the increased rear
reflection and randomization of the long wavelength light at the rear side of the solar cell [14].

FIGURE 4. Absorption in c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate with the highest Jmax = 37.73 mA/cm2 (LT: ARC, rear
pyramids and BSR) compared to Lambertian limit for 20 μm c-Si (Jmax = 41 mA/cm2).

Figure 4 illustrates absorption curve for c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate with the highest Jmax obtained
in this work (LT: ARC, rear pyramids and BSR) in comparison to Lambertian absorption for 20 μm c-Si. The
Lambertian absorption represents the highest achievable absorption and photocurrent density (Jmax) by a solar cell with a
specified device thickness [20]. The Lambertian limit assumes a solar cell geometry with zero front reflection (R=0) and
unity rear reflection (R=1). For the 20 μm-thick c-Si solar cell, the Lambertian Jmax is about 41 mA/cm2. Note that the
difference between the highest Jmax obtained in this work to the Jmax of the Lambertian limit is 3.27 mA/cm2.
Comparing the two absorption curves, it is obvious that the best absorption obtained in this work lacks light absorption
in both short wavelength (below 600 nm) and long wavelength (above 800 nm) regions. These are attributed to the
optical losses caused by reflection and parasitic absorptions in both ARC and BSR as shown in Fig. 5. To reach the
Lambertian absorption for the 20 μm c-Si, the optical losses need to be reduced. One approach to do this is by
introducing glass textures at the front side of the solar cell; at either air-glass, glass-Si or both interfaces [21]. The
glass textures can be random or periodic in nature and can be in upright or inverted configuration. The glass textures
are expected to enhance both light trapping and light coupling into the solar cell, which potentially leads to increased
light absorption and Jmax in the solar cell [22].

020032-6
 FIGURE 5. Reflection and parasitic absorption in c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate with the highest J max = 37.73
mA/cm2 (LT: ARC, rear pyramids and BSR). The curves represent optical losses in the solar cell.

CONCLUSION

C-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate suffers from moderate photocurrent due to incomplete light absorption
in the thin c-Si absorber layer. To increase the light absorption (hence photocurrent and conversion efficiency),
efficient LT schemes need to be incorporated into the device. In this work, incremental LT schemes have been
investigated in mono c-Si thin-film solar cell on glass superstrate by ray tracer. Solar cell with 20 µm thickness has
been used for the ray tracing. LT schemes involving SiNx ARC, rear pyramids and BSR have been investigated. From
the ray tracing of the incremental LT schemes, optical properties of the solar cell are analyzed within 300-1200 nm
wavelength region. From the absorption curve, Jmax of the solar cell is calculated, assuming unity carrier collection.

From the ray tracing, planar reference solar cell has Jmax of 25.70 mA/cm2. With SiNx ARC, the Jmax increases to
30.52 mA/cm2, owing to enhanced broadband light-coupling into the solar cell. When pyramids are incorporated at
the back of the cell, the Jmax increases to 36.12 mA/cm2, due to increased long wavelength light scattering at the
pyramid-air interface (rear side). Due to the enhanced scattering, optical pathlength enhancement of 15 is obtained at
wavelength of 1100 nm. When SiO2 and Ag BSR are combined with the above LT schemes, Jmax up to 37.73 mA/cm2
(or 46.8% enhancement) is achieved. This is contributed by increased rear reflection and trapping effect of the long
wavelength light by the BSR. With this LT scheme, optical pathlength enhancement of up to 28 is demonstrated at
wavelength of 1100 nm. To reach the Lambertian absorption, glass texturing at either air-glass, glass-Si or both
interfaces can be considered. The glass textures are expected to enhance both light trapping and light coupling into
the solar cell, which could increase light absorption and Jmax in the solar cell.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Author would like to thank Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for supporting this research.

020032-7
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