Broadband and wide-angle light harvesting by ultra-thin silicon solar cells with partially embedded dielectric spheres

We propose a design of crystalline silicon thin-film solar cells (c-Si TFSCs, 2 mu m-thick) configured with partially embedded dielectric spheres on the light-injecting side. The intrinsic light trapping and photoconversion are simulated by the complete optoelectronic simulation. It shows that the embedding depth of the spheres provides an effective way to modulate and significantly enhance the optical absorption. Compared to the conventional planar and front sphere systems, the optimized partially embedded sphere design enables a broadband, wide-angle, and strong optical absorption and efficient carrier transportation. Optoelectronic simulation predicts that a 2 mu m-thick c-Si TFSC with half-embedded spheres shows an increment of more than 10 mA/cm(2) in short-circuit current density and an enhancement ratio of more than 56% in light-conversion efficiency, compared to the conventional planar counterparts. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America