Thermodynamics of a nanowire solar cell towards the radiative limit

K. Korzun; P. A. L. M. Koolen; I. Kolpakov; E. A. Bochicchio; J. Gómez Rivas; J. E. M. Haverkort

doi:10.1117/12.2608671

4 March 2022 Thermodynamics of a nanowire solar cell towards the radiative limit

K. Korzun, P. A. L. M. Koolen, I. Kolpakov, E. A. Bochicchio, J. Gómez Rivas, J. E. M. Haverkort

Proceedings Volume 11996, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices XI; 1199609 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2608671
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2022, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

A lossless solar cell operating at the Shockley-Queisser (S-Q) limit generates an open-circuit voltage (V_OC) equal to the radiative limit. At V_OC, the highly directional beam of photons from the sun is absorbed and subsequently externally reemitted into a 4π solid angle, providing a large photon entropy loss. In our research we study the performance of a nanowire solar cell that can beat the S-Q limit and approach the 46.7% ultimate limit by placing a plano-convex lens on top of each nanowire. We have shown numerically that a 2 μm long InP tapered nanowire with the top radius of 83 nm and a tapering angle of 1.2 degrees shows a high photon escape probability of 42% due to an adiabatic expansion of the fundamental HE₁₁ mode which is then collimated using a plano-convex lens with a diameter of 8 μm. Both effects cause the increase of the open-circuit voltage of the solar cell by 159 mV above the radiative limit which is just 154 mV below the ultimate limit. The lens concept is also studied for a planar solar cell from the thermodynamics point view in terms of local entropy generation within the cell due to absorption/emission processes and is planned to be extended to a nanowire geometry.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

K. Korzun, P. A. L. M. Koolen, I. Kolpakov, E. A. Bochicchio, J. Gómez Rivas, and J. E. M. Haverkort "Thermodynamics of a nanowire solar cell towards the radiative limit", Proc. SPIE 11996, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices XI, 1199609 (4 March 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2608671

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