Photon Management in Solar Cells

Ralf B. Wehrspohn studied physics at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, and received his Ph. D. degree from the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris in 1997. Until 1999 he worked on thin-film transistors for AMLCDs at Philips Research. From 1999 until 2003 he led the Porous Materials/Photonic Crystals group at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, after which he held a chair at the Physics department of the University of Paderborn for three years. Since 2006, he has been the director of the Fraunhofer-Institute for Mechanics of Materials and a Professor of Physics at the Marti.

10.4 Down-Conversion in Sm-Doped Borate Glasses for High-Efficiency CdTe Solar Cells.

Written by renowned experts in the field of photon management in solar cells, this one-stop reference gives an introduction to the physics of light management in solar cells, and discusses the different concepts and methods of applying photon management. The authors cover the physics, principles, concepts, technologies, and methods used, explaining how to increase the efficiency of solar cells by splitting or modifying the solar spectrum before they absorb the sunlight. In so doing, they present novel concepts and materials allowing for the cheaper, more flexible manufacture of solar cells an.

Cover; Table of Contents; Title Page; Related Titles; Copyright; Preface; List of Contributors; Chapter 1: Current Concepts for Optical Path Enhancement in Solar Cells; 1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Planar Antireflection Coatings; 1.3 Optical Path Enhancement in the Ray Optical Limit; 1.4 Scattering Structures for Optical Path Enhancement; 1.5 Resonant Structures for Optical Path Enhancement; 1.6 Ultra-Light Trapping; 1.7 Energy-Selective Structures as Intermediate Reflectors for Optical Path Enhancement in Tandem Solar Cells; 1.8 Comparison of the Concepts; 1.9 Conclusion; References.

Chapter 2: The Principle of Detailed Balance and the Opto-Electronic Properties of Solar Cells2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Opto-Electronic Reciprocity; 2.3 Connection to Other Reciprocity Theorems; 2.4 Applications of the Opto-Electronic Reciprocity Theorem; 2.5 Limitations to the Opto-Electronic Reciprocity Theorem; 2.6 Conclusions; References; Chapter 3: Rear Side Diffractive Gratings for Silicon Wafer Solar Cells; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Principle of Light Trapping with Gratings; 3.3 Fundamental Limits of Light Trapping with Gratings; 3.4 Simulation of Gratings in Solar Cells; 3.5 Realization.

3.6 Topographical…