Optimization of light trapping in square and hexagonal grid inclined silicon nanowire solar cells

• Published in: Optics communications 2020-03, Vol.459, p.124980, Article 124980
• Main Authors: Kordrostami, Zoheir, Sheikholeslami, Hesam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorption; Current density; Inclined nanowire; Optimization; Solar cell
• ISSN: 0030-4018; 1873-0310
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optcom.2019.124980

In this paper, we focus on the optimization of four inclined nanowire solar cell designs by calculating optimum nanowire dimensions and the inclination angle using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Two types of the nanowire arrangements in an array (grid) has been investigated and hexagonal grid has been proposed as an efficient arrangement pattern for nanowire solar cells with superior light trapping and absorption properties. The effect of the nanowire cross sections on the performance of the solar cell in each grid has been studied and it has been proved that the nanowires with circular cross sections in a hexagonal grid provide the best characteristics. For the first time, four design parameters of a nanowire solar cell including the nanowire dimensions and the inclination angle have been optimized simultaneously by using PSO algorithm. The absorption efficiencies above 40 % and the current densities above 50 mA/cm2 have been achieved in optimum cases. The absorption, electric field, absorption efficiency and the current density have been calculated for all the structures and have been compared to each other. The results show that all the proposed solar cell designs, after optimization, outperform the previous works.