One-dimensional photogeneration profiles in silicon solar cells with pyramidal texture

The key metric of surface texturing is the short-circuit current Jsc. It depends on front surface transmittance, light trapping and the spatial profiles of photogeneration G and collection efficiency hc. To take advantage of a one-dimensional profile of hc(z), where z is the shortest distance to the p–n junction, we determine G(z) via ray tracing. This permits rigorous optical assessment of common pyramidal textures for various cell designs.When z is small,G(z) is largest beneath regular inverted pyramids, upright pyramids (regular or random) and planar surfaces, respectively. This higher G(z) results in superior collection of generated carriers in front-junction cells. In simulations of a conventional screen-print cell, 92.0% of generated carriers are collected for inverted pyramids, compared to 91.4% for upright pyramids, and 90.0% for a planar surface. Higher efficiency and rear junction devices are analysed in the paper. Despite differences in G(z) beneath textures, inverted pyramids achieve the highest Jsc for all cell designs examined (marginally so for high-efficiency rear-contact cells) due to superior front surface transmittance and light trapping. We assess a common one-dimensional model for photogeneration beneath textured surfaces. This model underestimates G(z) when z is small, and overestimates G(z) when z is large. As a result, the generation current determined is inaccurate for thin substrates. It can be computed to within 3% error for 250mm thick substrates. However, errors in G(z) can lead to 7.5% inaccuracy in calculations of Jsc. Errors are largest for lower efficiency designs, in which collection efficiency varies through the substrate. Copyright # 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.