15.7% Efficient 10-μm-thick crystalline silicon solar cells using periodic nanostructures

Matthew S Branham; Wei-Chun Hsu; Selcuk Yerci; James Loomis; Svetlana V Boriskina; Brittany R Hoard; Sang Eon Han; Gang Chen

doi:10.1002/adma.201405511

15.7% Efficient 10-μm-thick crystalline silicon solar cells using periodic nanostructures

Adv Mater. 2015 Apr 1;27(13):2182-8. doi: 10.1002/adma.201405511. Epub 2015 Feb 18.

Authors

Matthew S Branham¹, Wei-Chun Hsu, Selcuk Yerci, James Loomis, Svetlana V Boriskina, Brittany R Hoard, Sang Eon Han, Gang Chen

Affiliation

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.

PMID: 25692399
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201405511

Abstract

Only ten micrometer thick crystalline silicon solar cells deliver a short-circuit current of 34.5 mA cm(-2) and power conversion efficiency of 15.7%. The record performance for a crystalline silicon solar cell of such thinness is enabled by an advanced light-trapping design incorporating a 2D inverted pyramid photonic crystal and a rear dielectric/reflector stack.

Keywords: light trapping; photonic crystal; silicon photovoltaic; solar cells; ultrathin.