Simple and Fast Method to Optimize Nanotextured Interfaces of Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

A simple and fast method was developed to determine the optimal surface texture of thin-film silicon solar cells. The optical wave propagation was studied for microcrystalline thin-film silicon solar cells with integrated line and triangular gratings. The developed method based on rigorous coupled wave analysis provides a good agreement with experimental data. The short circuit current is enhanced by 60% up to 20–21 mA/cm2 for grating periods of 500–700 nm and grating heights of 300–500 nm. The method facilitates an analysis of nanotextured solar cells which is 20 times faster than conventional approaches like finite difference and finite integral simulations.