Design of anti-reflection coating for spherical silicon photovoltaic devices

M. Gharghi; S. Sivoththaman

doi:10.1117/12.795698

10 September 2008 Design of anti-reflection coating for spherical silicon photovoltaic devices

M. Gharghi, S. Sivoththaman

Proceedings Volume 7045, Photovoltaic Cell and Module Technologies II; 704509 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.795698
Event: Solar Energy + Applications, 2008, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Spherical silicon photovoltaic devices are bonded to flexible substrates to produce light-weight flexible solar modules. In order to maximize the conversion efficiency, the optical loss must be minimized. The concept of conventional anti reflection coating (ARC) does not directly apply to the spherical device due to different geometry. The optimum design of the ARC must maximize the optical power transmission from air to the Si crystal bulk. In addition to the refractive index and the thickness of the ARC, the power distribution on the exposed spherical surface, incidence angle dependent reflection, and multiple reflections at the spherical air-ARC and ARC-silicon interfaces also influence the ARC design. The effects of the spherical shape on the variations of the reflection are analyzed. It is shown that the optimum design is essentially different from the conventional ARC with uniform quarter-wavelength thickness. It is required that the design compensates the effect of variation of the incidence angle across the spherical surface. To achieve this, the thickness should have a zenith-angle dependence. Chemical vapor deposition techniques can potentially be employed for the deposition of the designed films.

Citation Download Citation

M. Gharghi and S. Sivoththaman "Design of anti-reflection coating for spherical silicon photovoltaic devices", Proc. SPIE 7045, Photovoltaic Cell and Module Technologies II, 704509 (10 September 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.795698

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