Potential of Photocurrent Improvement in μc-Si:H Solar Cells with TCO Substrates Structured by Direct Laser Interference Patterning

Abstract

Thin film solar cells based on weak absorbers like hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc–Si:H) need an effective light management to maximize light absorption. In this work, the authors study numerically the light trapping capability of boron doped zinc oxide (ZnO:B)-coated substrates textured by direct laser interference patterning (DLIP). The geometric parameters of the simulated patterns are taken from measurements of DLIP processed samples with sine-like grooves. The results suggest that this technology is suitable to enhance the photocurrent by 15–35% of µc–Si:H solar cells deposited on ZnO:B using texture periods between 0.8 and 1.5 µm and a 2 µm active layer.