Mie Resonant Ultrathin c-Si Solar Cells

Si solar cells continue to dominate the PV market.

To have a far-reaching impact new innovations in thin film Si solar cell technology that enable minimal material usage and lower manufacturing costs without compromising cell efficiency are necessary.

This project addresses this challenge by developing 5-10 µm thin film Si solar cells with novel light trapping using nanodisk Mie resonators to achieve efficiencies >15%. Sunlight absorption in these Si solar cells is enhanced by integrating Si nanodisk Mie resonators.

The resonators of different diameters in spatially disordered arrangements provide a unique way for broadband antireflection and Lambertian light scattering to enhance absorption.

The project combines state-of-the-art Si epitaxy, scalable nanopatterning and processing methods for thin film Si solar cell fabrication.

The developed concepts and design principles for light trapping is also relevant for other thin film solar cell technologies.