NUMERICAL APPROACH FOR HIGH-EFFICIENCY A-SI SOLAR-CELLS

We have developed the first precise numerical simulator for thin-film solar cells with two-dimensional structures, such as a submicron textu red a-Si solar cell. Conventional simulators for thin-film solar cells were all one-dimensional, which made precise simulation of the behavi or of light and carrier transport in the cell impossible. Using the 2D simulator, guidelines for cell design, including textured structures, were obtained. One proposal to increase the conversion efficiency of the textured a-Si single-junction solar cell is to make the texture pe riod longer than the film thickness.