Simulation of rough surface of CIGS (CuInGaSe) solar cell by RCWA (rigorous coupled wave analysis) considering the incoherency of light

Abstract

The surface of semiconductor solar cells, such as a-Si or CIGS (CuInGaSe) solar cells is not flat but textured in the microscopic domain. With textured surfaces, the optical reflectivity of a solar cell is different from that of flat surfaces in the wavelength region. In this paper, the effects of a textured surface on a CIGS solar cell are presented by RCWA (Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis) method. The effect of incoherent light is also considered by RCWA with a Fourier analysis while conventional optical simulation uses the input light on the solar cell as coherent light. Using experimental results, the author showed that the RCWA method with a Fourier analysis is a proper method to simulate the optical properties of CIGS solar cells.