Effect of front surface light trapping structures on the PERC solar cell

Abstract

Properties of the front textured surface shape and anti-reflection coating have a great impact on the performance of solar cells. In this paper, the simulation model of the minimum unit cell structure is established and validated, which is based on the framework of Silvaco software and basic parameters of the standard pyramid textures single crystalline silicon PERC solar cell. The effect of the front surface light trapping structures on cell performance is discussed. It is found that the slightly concave pyramid-like textures can improve the response for short wavelengths and the short-circuit current density of the cell is increased by 0.3 mA/cm2, which is improved by 0.80%. In addition, by properly controlling the preparation process of the anti-reflection coating, a gradient-index SiOxNy/Si3N4 double-layer anti-reflection coating (DLARC) can be formed, which can significantly reduce the reflectivity for short wavelengths. And the short-circuit current density of the cell can be increased by 0.32 mA/cm2, which is improved by 0.86%. Finally, the optimized slightly concave pyramid-like textures and the SiOxNy/Si3N4 DLARC can improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the PERC solar cell by 0.18% and 0.20%, respectively.