Polarization-dependent angular-optical reflectance in solar-selective SnOx:F/Al2O3/Al reflector surfaces

Polarization-dependent angular-optical properties of spectrally selective reflector surfaces of fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnOx:F) deposited pyrolytically on anodized aluminum are reported. The angular-reflectance measurements, for which both s- and p-polarized light are used in the solar wavelength range 0.3-2.5 microm, reveal strong spectral selectivity, and the angular behavior is highly dependent on the polarizing component of the incident beam, the total film thickness, and the individual thickness of the Al2O3 and the SnO2:F layers. The anodic A12O3 layers were produced electrochemically and varied between 100 and 205 nm in thickness. The SnOx:F films were grown pyrolytically at a temperature of 400 degrees C with film thicknesses varying in the range 180-320 nm. The reflectors were aimed at silicon solar cells, and good spectrally selective reflector characteristics were achieved with these thinly preanodized, SnOx:F/Al samples; that is, high cell reflectance was obtained for wavelengths below 1.1 microm and low thermal reflectance for wavelengths above 1.1 microm, with the best samples having values of 0.80 and 0.42, respectively, at near-normal angles of incidence. This corresponds to an anodic layer thickness of 155 nm. Both the angular calculations and the experimental measurements show that the cell reflectance is relatively insensitive to the incidence angle, and a low thermal reflectance is maintained up to an angle of approximately 60 degrees.