Enhanced Optical Confinement Enriching the Power Conversion Efficiency of Integrated 3D Grating Organic Solar Cell
In this paper, we examine the impact of three-dimensional grating layers embedded at selected locations in an organic solar cell structure to obtain enhanced efficiency. The design, simulations, and optimizations were carried out using an in-house tool based on the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RC...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/20/4294 |
| _version_ | 1797470142304616448 |
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| author | Moshe Zohar Roy Avrahamy Shlomo Hava Benny Milgrom Evyatar Rimon |
| author_facet | Moshe Zohar Roy Avrahamy Shlomo Hava Benny Milgrom Evyatar Rimon |
| author_sort | Moshe Zohar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, we examine the impact of three-dimensional grating layers embedded at selected locations in an organic solar cell structure to obtain enhanced efficiency. The design, simulations, and optimizations were carried out using an in-house tool based on the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method developed on the MATLAB R2019a platform. An optimal organic solar cell structure design with a top grating layer exhibited an increase of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>7.47</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> in the short-circuit current density compared to an organic solar cell structure with a smooth top layer. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) increase was mainly due to increased light confinement in the thin absorbing layer. Adding an embedded grating layer in the absorption layer resulted in a significant increase in the absorptance spectral bandwidth, where the short-circuit current density increased by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>10.88</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. In addition, the grating cells yielded a substantial improvement in the cell’s conical absorptance since the existence of a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) in the back metal gratings increases the confinement properties. Further, the effect of a pyramid-shaped embedded grating array was a slight improvement in the PCE compared to the rectangular-shaped grating arrays. We showed that a pyramid-grating can act as a nano black-body layer, increasing the absorption for a wide range of azimuthal and polar incident angles. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:33:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-543de82b67104e6a9348f17b12a7d4a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:33:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-543de82b67104e6a9348f17b12a7d4a02023-11-24T02:06:40ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-10-011420429410.3390/polym14204294Enhanced Optical Confinement Enriching the Power Conversion Efficiency of Integrated 3D Grating Organic Solar CellMoshe Zohar0Roy Avrahamy1Shlomo Hava2Benny Milgrom3Evyatar Rimon4Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Shamoon College of Engineering, P.O. Box 950, Beer Sheva 8410802, IsraelSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 8410501, IsraelElectrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Shamoon College of Engineering, P.O. Box 950, Beer Sheva 8410802, IsraelSchool of Electrical Engineering, Jerusalem College of Technology, P.O. Box 16031, Jerusalem 9372115, IsraelSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 8410501, IsraelIn this paper, we examine the impact of three-dimensional grating layers embedded at selected locations in an organic solar cell structure to obtain enhanced efficiency. The design, simulations, and optimizations were carried out using an in-house tool based on the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method developed on the MATLAB R2019a platform. An optimal organic solar cell structure design with a top grating layer exhibited an increase of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>7.47</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> in the short-circuit current density compared to an organic solar cell structure with a smooth top layer. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) increase was mainly due to increased light confinement in the thin absorbing layer. Adding an embedded grating layer in the absorption layer resulted in a significant increase in the absorptance spectral bandwidth, where the short-circuit current density increased by <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>10.88</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. In addition, the grating cells yielded a substantial improvement in the cell’s conical absorptance since the existence of a surface plasmon polariton (SPP) in the back metal gratings increases the confinement properties. Further, the effect of a pyramid-shaped embedded grating array was a slight improvement in the PCE compared to the rectangular-shaped grating arrays. We showed that a pyramid-grating can act as a nano black-body layer, increasing the absorption for a wide range of azimuthal and polar incident angles.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/20/4294organic solar cells (OSCs)solar energyphotovoltaic (PV)grating structureslight confinement |
| spellingShingle | Moshe Zohar Roy Avrahamy Shlomo Hava Benny Milgrom Evyatar Rimon Enhanced Optical Confinement Enriching the Power Conversion Efficiency of Integrated 3D Grating Organic Solar Cell Polymers organic solar cells (OSCs) solar energy photovoltaic (PV) grating structures light confinement |
| title | Enhanced Optical Confinement Enriching the Power Conversion Efficiency of Integrated 3D Grating Organic Solar Cell |
| title_full | Enhanced Optical Confinement Enriching the Power Conversion Efficiency of Integrated 3D Grating Organic Solar Cell |
| title_fullStr | Enhanced Optical Confinement Enriching the Power Conversion Efficiency of Integrated 3D Grating Organic Solar Cell |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhanced Optical Confinement Enriching the Power Conversion Efficiency of Integrated 3D Grating Organic Solar Cell |
| title_short | Enhanced Optical Confinement Enriching the Power Conversion Efficiency of Integrated 3D Grating Organic Solar Cell |
| title_sort | enhanced optical confinement enriching the power conversion efficiency of integrated 3d grating organic solar cell |
| topic | organic solar cells (OSCs) solar energy photovoltaic (PV) grating structures light confinement |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/20/4294 |
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