A 19.9%-efficient ultrathin solar cell based on a 205-nm-thick GaAs absorber and a silver nanostructured back mirror

Hung-Ling Chen, Andrea Cattoni, Romaric De Lépinau, Alexandre W. Walker, Oliver Höhn, David Lackner, Gerald Siefer, Marco Faustini, Nicolas Vandamme, Julie Goffard, Benoît Behaghel, Christophe Dupuis, Nathalie Bardou, Frank Dimroth and Stéphane Collin ()
Additional contact information
Hung-Ling Chen: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay
Andrea Cattoni: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay
Romaric De Lépinau: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay
Alexandre W. Walker: Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)
Oliver Höhn: Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)
David Lackner: Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)
Gerald Siefer: Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)
Marco Faustini: Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Collège de France
Nicolas Vandamme: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay
Julie Goffard: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay
Benoît Behaghel: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay
Christophe Dupuis: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay
Nathalie Bardou: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay
Frank Dimroth: Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)
Stéphane Collin: University Paris-Sud/Paris-Saclay

Nature Energy, 2019, vol. 4, issue 9, 761-767

Abstract: Abstract Conventional photovoltaic devices are currently made from relatively thick semiconductor layers, ~150 µm for silicon and 2–4 µm for Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2, CdTe or III–V direct bandgap semiconductors. Ultrathin solar cells using 10 times thinner absorbers could lead to considerable savings in material and processing time. Theoretical models suggest that light trapping can compensate for the reduced single-pass absorption, but optical and electrical losses have greatly limited the performances of previous attempts. Here, we propose a strategy based on multi-resonant absorption in planar active layers, and we report a 205-nm-thick GaAs solar cell with a certified efficiency of 19.9%. It uses a nanostructured silver back mirror fabricated by soft nanoimprint lithography. Broadband light trapping is achieved with multiple overlapping resonances induced by the grating and identified as Fabry–Perot and guided-mode resonances. A comprehensive optical and electrical analysis of the complete solar cell architecture provides a pathway for further improvements and shows that 25% efficiency is a realistic short-term target.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41560-019-0434-y

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