Minimizing reflection losses from metallic electrodes and enhancing photovoltaic performance using the Si-micrograting solar cell with vertical sidewall electrodes

Abstract

Researchers have focused on the development of Si nano- or micro-structured solar cells (SCs) because of their enhanced optical absorption properties and their ability to decouple minority carrier diffusion and light absorption paths. We adopt a low-cost method to monolithically fabricate Si-micrograting SC (SiMG-SC) with vertical sidewall electrodes and a vertical multi-junction, which minimizes the reflection losses from conventional planar metallic electrodes and increases the minority carrier collection probability. We consequently intensified the photovoltaic properties, i.e., the current density, fill factor, and power conversion efficiency, by 11.2%, 23.7%, and 52.9%, respectively, compared to those of the control SCs.