Abstract

Absorption enhancement in thin metal-backed solar cells caused by dipole scatterers embedded in the absorbing layer is studied using a semi-analytical approach. The method accounts for changes in the radiation rate produced by layers above and below the dipole, and treats incoherently the subsequent scattering of light in guided modes from other dipoles. We find large absorption enhancements for strongly coupled dipoles, exceeding the ergodic limit in some configurations involving lossless dipoles. An antireflection-coated 100-nm layer of a- Si:H on Ag absorbs up to 87% of incident above-gap light. Thin layers of both strong and weak absorbers show similar strongly enhanced absorption.

© 2009 Optical Society of America

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History
Original Manuscript: September 1, 2009
Manuscript Accepted: October 11, 2009
Revised Manuscript: October 10, 2009
Published: November 3, 2009

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Author Affiliations

Peter N. Saeta, Vivian E. Ferry, Domenico Pacifici, Jeremy N. Munday, Harry A. Atwater

Caltech

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