Ray Tracing of Thin PERC Silicon Solar Cells with Cone Textures

Abstract

Thinning of crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafer is a promising approach to reduce the technology cost of passivated emitter rear cell (PERC) solar cell. However, reducing the wafer thickness compromises light absorption, hence short-circuit current density (Jsc) in the solar cell. This necessitates effective light trapping in the device. In this work, upright cone textures are incorporated on the surface of 50 μm PERC monocrystalline silicon solar cell. SunSolve ray tracer is used to simulate the optical and electrical properties of the solar cell within 300-1200 nm wavelength region. Besides, the solar cell is also simulated with a front silicon nitride (SiNx) anti-reflective coating (ARC) on the cone textures. From the results, the thin PERC solar cell with cone textures and SiNx ARC demonstrates Jsc of up to 38.8 mA/cm2 and conversion efficiency of 20.4%. This is a significant performance improvement when compared to the planar cell, with Jsc of 25.1 mA/cm2 and efficiency of 13.1%. The improvement is attributed to the enhanced broadband light absorption and increased external quantum efficiency in the device.