Dielectric-Metamaterial Reflectors for Effective Absorption of Light in Solar Cells

Abstract

Recent designs of dielectric-metamaterial composites have some advantages in improving the coupling effect of light in the visible region. The refractive index of the designed metal mesh or fishnet metamaterial structure consists of metals such as Ag, Cu and Al with MgF2 dielectric material as the substrate which is calculated theoretically using Bruggeman equation. It has been established recently that the dielectric-metamaterial reflector coating (DMMRC) produces outstanding results. It drastically increases the internal reflection and enhances absorption in the visible region. DMMRC is designed by two slabs with exclusive thickness and contrary refractive indices. One is dielectric material and the other is negative refractive index material (NIM). This theoretical model can be treated as a photonic crystal and hence novel light trapping mechanism can be revealed. The transmission spectrum is analyzed using the transverse matrix method (TMM). This system may also be analyzed for various incident angles and for various substrates which are used to improve the efficiency of the solar cell.