Benefits of Lambertian light distribution across widely deployed photovoltaic materials

Nicholas P. Irvin; Sean J. Babcock; Eric Y. Chen; Richard R. King; Christiana B. Honsberg

doi:10.1117/12.2543935

3 March 2020 Benefits of Lambertian light distribution across widely deployed photovoltaic materials

Nicholas P. Irvin, Sean J. Babcock, Eric Y. Chen, Richard R. King, Christiana B. Honsberg

Proceedings Volume 11275, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices IX; 112750U (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2543935
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2020, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Silicon solar cells benefit from an internal Lambertian light distribution achieved through texturing, while the performance of direct-bandgap materials can be lower with an internal Lambertian light distribution than the light distribution of a planar cell. A novel analytic expression is derived for the emittance of cells with a Lambertian light distribution and partial rear reflectance. This expression enables comparison of Si, GaAs, CdTe, and CIS cells under planar and Lambertian light distributions with varying rear reflectance in the Auger limit. A Lambertian light distribution is shown to be particularly beneficial to thinner material with higher rear reflectance due to absorptance enhancement. It is found that a Lambertian light distribution increases radiative recombination in most absorbers but can reduce radiative recombination in some CIS material.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Nicholas P. Irvin, Sean J. Babcock, Eric Y. Chen, Richard R. King, and Christiana B. Honsberg "Benefits of Lambertian light distribution across widely deployed photovoltaic materials", Proc. SPIE 11275, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices IX, 112750U (3 March 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2543935

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