Development of Epitaxial Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) Solar Cell as a Test Platform for Novel Antireflection and Light-trapping Schemes

摘要

The design of a test platform for novel antireflection and light trapping schemes, based on the interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cell concept, is presented. Two enhancements to the front surface of the basic cell design are explored: Addition of a thin SiO_2 passivation layer between the thin film antireflective (AR) coating and incorporation of a front surface field via the formation of an n~+ floating emitter. PC2D simulations predict that power conversion efficiency values up to 17.4% can be achieved by incorporating these enhancements into the IBC cell design.