Investigation of advanced light trapping concepts for plasma-deposited solid phase crystallised polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass

Abstract

This thesis investigates advanced light trapping concepts for plasma-deposited solid phase crystallised poly-Si thin-film solar cells on glass. The aluminium induced texturization (AIT) method for glass, which alone can enhance the short-circuit current density (Jsc) of poly-Si thin-film cells by over 60 %, is scaled up to pilot line scale glass sheets and a phenomenological model is proposed for the AIT process. The Jsc of poly-Si thin-film solar cells on AIT glass is shown to increase by 6.6 % when the glass thickness is reduced from 3 to 0.5 mm. Plasma etching of the cell?s rear surface is shown to further enhance the Jsc by 3 %. Using a stack of silicon dioxide and silver as a back surface reflector is shown to further boost the Jsc by 9.2 %, resulting in a Jsc potential of 31 mA/cm2 for a 2 ?m thick poly-Si thin-film solar cell on AIT glass.