Optical modelling of incoherent substrate light-trapping in silicon thin film multi-junction solar cells with finite elements and domain decomposition

Martin Hammerschmidt; Daniel Lockau; Lin Zschiedrich; Frank Schmidt

doi:10.1117/12.2036346

7 March 2014 Optical modelling of incoherent substrate light-trapping in silicon thin film multi-junction solar cells with finite elements and domain decomposition

Martin Hammerschmidt, Daniel Lockau, Lin Zschiedrich, Frank Schmidt

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8980, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XXII; 898007 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2036346
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2014, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In many experimentally realized applications, e.g. photonic crystals, solar cells and light-emitting diodes, nanophotonic systems are coupled to a thick substrate layer, which in certain cases has to be included as a part of the optical system. The finite element method (FEM) yields rigorous, high accuracy solutions of full 3D vectorial Maxwell's equations¹ and allows for great flexibility and accuracy in the geometrical modelling. Time-harmonic FEM solvers have been combined with Fourier methods in domain decomposition algorithms to compute coherent solutions of these coupled system.^{2, 3} The basic idea of a domain decomposition approach lies in a decomposition of the domain into smaller subdomains, separate calculations of the solutions and coupling of these solutions on adjacent subdomains. In experiments light sources are often not perfectly monochromatic and hence a comparision to simulation results might only be justified if the simulation results, which include interference patterns in the substrate, are spectrally averaged. In this contribution we present a scattering matrix domain decomposition algorithm for Maxwell's equations based on FEM. We study its convergence and advantages in the context of optical simulations of silicon thin film multi-junction solar cells. This allows for substrate lighttrapping to be included in optical simulations and leads to a more realistic estimation of light path enhancement factors in thin-film devices near the band edge.

Citation Download Citation

Martin Hammerschmidt, Daniel Lockau, Lin Zschiedrich, and Frank Schmidt "Optical modelling of incoherent substrate light-trapping in silicon thin film multi-junction solar cells with finite elements and domain decomposition", Proc. SPIE 8980, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XXII, 898007 (7 March 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2036346

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available