Increased Absorption with Al Nanoparticle at Front Surface of Thin Film Silicon Solar Cell

Rokeya Jahan Mukti, Md Rabiul Hossain, Ariful Islam, Saad Mekhilef and Ben Horan
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Rokeya Jahan Mukti: Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chattogram 4225, Bangladesh
Md Rabiul Hossain: Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, Chittagong Independent University, Chattogram 4000, Bangladesh
Ariful Islam: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Chittagong, Chattogram 4331, Bangladesh
Saad Mekhilef: Power Electronics and Renewable Energy Research Laboratory (PEARL), Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Ben Horan: School of Engineering, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216, Australia

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 13, 1-10

Abstract: This article presents an effective structural design arrangement for light trapping in the front surface of a thin film silicon solar cell (TFSC). Front surface light trapping rate is significantly enhanced here by incorporating the Aluminium (Al) nanoparticle arrays into silicon nitride anti-reflection layer. The light trapping capability of these arrays is extensively analyzed via Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method considering the wavelength ranging from 400 to 1100 nm. The outcome indicates that the structural parameters associated with the aluminium nanoparticle arrays like particle radii and separations between adjacent particles, play vital roles in designing the solar cell to achieve better light trapping efficiency. A detailed comparative analysis has justified the effectiveness of this approach while contrasting the results found with commonly used silver nanoparticle arrays at the front surface of the cell. Because of the surface plasmon excitation, lower light reflectance, and significant near field enhancement, aluminium nanoparticle arrays offer broadband light absorption by the cell.

Keywords: thin-film silicon solar cell; light trapping; metal nanoparticle; absorption enhancement; surface plasmon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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