Omnidirectional broadband absorption enhancement in laterally assembled quadrangle silicon nanowire solar cells

Abstract

In this paper, effects of geometry and spatial placement of quadrangle silicon nanowires (NWs) on the performance of laterally assembled NW solar cells are investigated. Two different approaches are proposed to reach the broadband absorption enhancement in these types of solar cells. In the first method, a semi-periodic array is used to have a better utilization of the optical antenna effect. The current density can be enhanced as a result of a compromise between the diffraction and optical antenna effects. In the second approach, multiple NWs with different geometries are employed to use the cavity modes of the various NWs. The best current density is achieved for the combination of both of these methods. The different parameters in each structure are selected using the optimization algorithm. Finally, a multilayer structure with the optimized dimensions is proposed to obtain the maximum achievable current density in ultrathin solar cells. The broadband absorption enhancement in the proposed structure is preserved for a wide range of incident angles. Using the multilayer NW arrays, it is possible to improve the absorption enhancement of solar cells without introducing more absorbing material.

Keywords:

• Silicon nanowires
• ultrathin solar cells
• optical antenna effect
• diffraction
• optical resonators