Multilayer antireflection coating design for GaAs0.69P0.31/Si dual-junction solar cells. (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Saylan, Sueda; Milakovich, Timothy; Hadi, Sabina Abdul; Nayfeh, Ammar; Fitzgerald, Eugene A.; Dahlem, Marcus S.
• Is Part Of: Solar energy. Volume 122(2015)
• Page Start: 76
• Page End: 86
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: Antireflection coating -- Multi-junction solar cell -- Transfer matrix method -- GaAs(1−x)Px/silicon tandem cell; Solar energy -- Periodicals; Solar engines -- Periodicals; 621.47
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2015.07.049
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-092X

Abstract

Highlights: Double- and triple-layer antireflection coatings for multi-junction solar cells. Analysis based on transfer matrix method. Reflectance suppressed below 5% over the spectral range of interest (400–945 nm). Solar weighted reflectance between 2.86% and 4.37%, compared to 32.22% from bare cell. Flexible technique that can be used to design ARCs for any solar cell. Abstract: In this paper, we systematically investigate the use of multilayer antireflection coatings (ARC) on GaAs0.69 P0.31 /Si dual-junction solar cells for achieving broadband reflection suppression. We incorporate dispersion, absorption, and both coherent and incoherent interference, by modeling the solar cell as a multilayer medium of thin films and a substrate, using the transfer matrix method. The analytical model is verified through reflectance measurements on a GaAs(1 −x ) P x /GaP stack. Our results show that optimized double- and triple-layer ARCs can minimize reflectance to below 5% within the spectral range of ∼400–945 nm, with the latter maintaining this performance over a broader spectrum of 390–1000 nm, in comparison to 25–45% reflectance for the bare solar cell.