Prof. Reinhold Blümel Profile

Prof. Reinhold Blümel

at Wesleyan Univ.

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (4)

SPIE Journal Paper | 22 June 2021 Open Access

Investigation of resonance structures in optically thin solar cells

Maren Anna Brandsrud, Reinhold Blümel, Rozalia Lukacs, Eivind Seim, Erik Stensrud Marstein, Espen Olsen, Achim Kohler

JPE, Vol. 11, Issue 02, 024501, (June 2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JPE.11.024501

KEYWORDS: Absorption, Refractive index, Mirrors, Solar cells, Thin film solar cells, Systems modeling, Thin films, Solar energy, Silicon, Multilayers

Read Abstract +

DOWNLOAD PAPER

Proceedings Article | 1 April 2020 Presentation + Paper

Does chaotic scattering affect the extinction efficiency in quasi-spherical scatterers?

Maren Anna Brandsrud, Reinhold Blümel, Johanne Solheim, Eirik Magnussen, Eivind Seim, Achim Kohler

Proceedings Volume 11359, 113590C (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2556390

KEYWORDS: Scattering, Mie scattering, Chaos, Infrared radiation, Absorbance, Absorption, Electromagnetic scattering

Read Abstract +

Proceedings Article | 27 February 2019 Paper

Chaos: a new mechanism for enhancing the optical generation rate in optically thin solar cells

Eivind Seim, Achim Kohler, Rozalia Lukacs, Maren Anna Brandsrud, Erik Stensrud Marstein, Espen Olsen, Reinhold Blümel

Proceedings Volume 10913, 109131O (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2514959

KEYWORDS: Solar cells, Absorption, Chaos, Scattering, Fractal analysis, Ray tracing, Solar energy

Read Abstract +

Proceedings Article | 27 February 2019 Paper

Optimized solar cells based on changes in resonance structure as a function of the refractive index and the thickness

Maren Anna Brandsrud, Rozalia Lukacs, Reinhold Blümel, Eivind Seim, Erik Stensrud Marstein, Espen Olsen, Achim Kohler

Proceedings Volume 10913, 109130M (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2515169

KEYWORDS: Absorption, Refractive index, Solar cells, Thin film solar cells, Solar energy, Systems modeling, Thin films, Silicon

Read Abstract +

In order to reduce costs, the solar cell industry is aiming at producing ever thinner solar cells. Structuring the surfaces of optically thin solar cells is important for avoiding excessive transmission-related losses and, hence, to maintain or increase their efficiency. Light trapping leading to longer optical path lengths within the solar cells is a well established field of research. In addition to this, other possible benefits of structured surfaces have been proposed. It has been suggested that nanostructures on the surface of thin solar cells function as resonators, inducing electric-field resonances that enhance absorption in the the energy-converting material. Further, coupling of electric field resonances in periodically structured solar cells may couple with each other thereby increasing the absorption of energy. A deeper understanding of the nature of the energy-conversion enhancement in surface-structured and thin solar cells would allow to design more targeted structures. Generally, efficiency enhancement may be evaluated by investigating the electric field and optimizing the optical generation rate. Here, we establish a model system consisting of multilayered solar cells in order to study resonances and coupling of resonances in a one-dimensional system. We show that resonances in energyconverting and non-energy converting layers exist. The coupling of resonances in the non-energy converting material and the energy-converting material is only possible for certain parameter ranges of thickness of the energy converting material and the imaginary part of the refractive index. We evaluate the resonances and the coupling of resonances in different thin-film systems and show how they affect the total absorption of energy in the energy converting layer. We show how resonances in non-absorbing layers can contribute to increasing the resonances in the absorbing layers. We optimize the parameters of the multilayered thin-film systems to achieve an increase in the amount of the absorbed energy. The optimization is also evaluated for an experimentally realizable thin-film solar cell.

View contact details

UPDATE YOUR PROFILE

Is this your profile? Update it now.

Sign into your SPIE.org account

Don’t have a profile and want one?

Create an account on SPIE.org

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years