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Omni-direction PERC solar cells harnessing periodic locally focused light incident through patterned PDMS
Min Ju Yun1, Yeon Hyang Sim1,2, Dong Y Lee1
1Energy Conversion Research Center, Electrical Materials Research Division, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute Korea sicha@keri.re.kr.
RSC Advances
|May 2, 2022
Summary
Researchers improved solar panel efficiency by locally focusing light with polydimethylsiloxane encapsulation. This module-level enhancement complements cell-level improvements, increasing electrical energy production by 3.6% for crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels.
Area of Science:
- Renewable Energy
- Materials Science
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Crystalline silicon solar cells are the dominant renewable electricity source.
- Current efficiency improvements primarily focus on cell-level modifications to reduce charge carrier recombination.
- Established cell-level enhancements include PERC, IBC, and HJT technologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and investigate quasi-Fermi level control for enhancing solar cell module-level performance.
- To explore the use of periodic local light focusing via polydimethylsiloxane encapsulation.
- To complement existing cell-level efficiency improvements with module-scale strategies.
Main Methods:
- Utilized periodic local focusing of incident light through polydimethylsiloxane encapsulation.
- Investigated the modification of the internal quasi-Fermi level in PERC solar cells.
- Analyzed the impact of local focusing conditions on photon distribution and efficiency.
Main Results:
- Locally focused light modifies the quasi-Fermi level and photon distribution within PERC solar cells.
- Central focusing increased current density but reduced fill factor; multiple local focusing enhanced fill factor.
- Achieved a 3.6% increase in total electrical energy production compared to a bare cell, overcoming EVA attenuation.
Conclusions:
- Quasi-Fermi level control via local light focusing is a viable module-level enhancement strategy for solar cells.
- This method offers advantages over conventional encapsulation by mitigating short-wavelength light attenuation.
- Further module-scale studies are needed to optimize local focusing and its integration with device-level modifications.
