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Weak absorption of light near the band gap is one limiting factor on the efficiency of photovoltaics. This is particularly
true for thin-film solar cells because the short optical path lengths and limited options for texturing the front and back
surfaces. Scattering light laterally is one way to increase the optical path length to increase the chance that a given low
energy photon is absorbed. We investigate the use of a periodic array of bowtie apertures to couple incident light to
parallel plate waveguide modes supported between two conductors. We show that this increases the efficiency of solar
cells by 39% and explain the physical mechanisms. This architecture has potential for thin film photovolatics or for
forming an intermediate conductor in multi-junction solar cells.
Edward C. Kinzel,Pornsak Srisungsitthisunti, andXianfan Xu
"Periodic arrays of ridge apertures as a high efficiency coupler for photovoltaic applications", Proc. SPIE 7772, Next Generation (Nano) Photonic and Cell Technologies for Solar Energy Conversion, 777208 (24 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.859888
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Edward C. Kinzel, Pornsak Srisungsitthisunti, Xianfan Xu, "Periodic arrays of ridge apertures as a high efficiency coupler for photovoltaic applications," Proc. SPIE 7772, Next Generation (Nano) Photonic and Cell Technologies for Solar Energy Conversion, 777208 (24 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.859888