Enhanced carrier extraction of a-Si/c-Si solar cells by nanopillar-induced optical modulation

We demonstrate improved short-wavelength internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of a-Si/c-Si heterojunction (HJ) solar cells with a surface nanopillar (NP) array via simulation. The gain in IQE is attributed to the light-field modulation caused by the cavity resonance inside the NPs, in which the light energy is effectively localized within the c-Si bulk rather than the a-Si layer. The average IQE in the short-wavelength range (330-450 nm) is enhanced from 43.94% to 62.88% by the optimal NP array, with a maximum IQE of 80.98% at λ = 400 nm. The resulting current gain is over 38.25% compared to a planar HJ cell in this wavelength range, showing a well suppressed recombination-induced current loss. This light-management scheme may also find applications in other types of cells.