Nanostructure-based enhancement of performance in thin-film photovoltaic devices

Jagdish A. K.; Sibimol Luke; Praveen C. Ramamurthy; D. Roy Mahapatra; Gopalakrishna Hegde

doi:10.1117/12.2217944

14 March 2016 Nanostructure-based enhancement of performance in thin-film photovoltaic devices

Jagdish A. K., Sibimol Luke, Praveen C. Ramamurthy, D. Roy Mahapatra, Gopalakrishna Hegde

Proceedings Volume 9743, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices V; 97431J (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2217944
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2016, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Incorporating nanostructures in thin film solar cells is an interesting way to improve the optoelectronic performance of the device by means of light-trapping and light management. However, designing the optimal shape and dimensions of the nanostructure is of critical importance for enhanced device performance. It is desired to have synergistic effects in the optical and electronic domains to result in a better performance. However in some nanostructures, the geometrically induced effects in these two domains might counteract resulting in a relatively inferior performance in the nano-structured device. We show this with a simulated example of a nanostructured organic solar cell with nano-pillar transparent electrodes. Here it is seen that the enhancement in photocurrent due to nano-scale scattering through the walls of the pillar is suppressed by the steady-state potential distribution induced by the nano-scale geometry. As a result of poor charge separation in the regions around the pillar, the photocurrents decrease. It is thus highlighted that the opto-electronic transport and electric field enhancement based co-degisn of nanostructures is important to fully understand the nano-scale effects.

Citation Download Citation

Jagdish A. K., Sibimol Luke, Praveen C. Ramamurthy, D. Roy Mahapatra, and Gopalakrishna Hegde "Nanostructure-based enhancement of performance in thin-film photovoltaic devices", Proc. SPIE 9743, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices V, 97431J (14 March 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2217944

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