Ray Tracing of Various Surface Light Trapping Structures on Silicon Solar Cells

Halo D. Omar

doi:10.14500/aro.12574

Authors

Halo D. Omar Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Health, Koya University, Koya, Kurdistan Region – F.R. Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5888-5695

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14500/aro.12574

Keywords:

Light trapping, Silicon, Solar cell, SunSolve ray tracer

Abstract

In this work, the SunSolve ray tracer is used to investigate the effects of various surface structures on silicon (Si) passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) solar cells. A Si substrate with a thickness of 170 µm is used. The studied surface structures include front-side inverted pyramids, cones, and spherical caps. Flat Si is used as a reference. The performance of these structures is evaluated across the 200–1100 nm wavelength range under AM 1.5G solar spectrum illumination at normal incidence. The weighted average reflectance (RWAR) is calculated from the reflectance profile over the entire spectral range. Among the results, the PERC solar cell with a pyramid texture demonstrates a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of up to 40.55 mA/cm2 and a conversion efficiency (η) of 21.76%. This represents a significant performance improvement over the other structures, attributed to enhanced broadband light absorbance and increased device efficiency. This study thus provides a detailed analysis of how different front-surface structures affect the performance of Si photovoltaic cells.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Halo D. Omar, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Health, Koya University, Koya, Kurdistan Region – F.R. Iraq

Halo D. Omar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Health, Koya University. He got the M.Sc. degree in Material Physics from the University of Poitiers - France. His research interests are: Material Physics, Solar energy and Nanotechnology.

References

Chen, H.-Y., Lu, H.-L., Ren, Q.-H., Zhang, Y., Yang, X.-F., Ding, S.-J. & Zhang, D. W. 2015. Enhanced photovoltaic performance of inverted pyramid-based nanostructured black-silicon solar cells passivated by an atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 layer. Nanoscale, 7, 15142-15148. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5NR03353E

Daud, M. N. M., Aadenan, A., Nor, N. S. M., Ibrahim, M. A. & Teridi, M. A. M. 2025. Analyzing the Performance of Simplified Si Solar Cells on p-type Si Wafer. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-025-10103-2

DI SABATINO, M., HENDAWI, R. & GARCIA, A. S. 2024. Silicon Solar Cells: Trends, Manufacturing Challenges, and AI Perspectives. Crystals, 14, 167. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14020167

DOU, B., JIA, R., XING, Z., YAO, X., XIAO, D., JIN, Z. & LIU, X. 2021. Enhanced Performance of Nanotextured Silicon Solar Cells with Excellent Light-Trapping Properties. Photonics, 8, 272. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics8070272

GREULICH, J., VOLK, A.-K., WÖHRLE, N., HAEDRICH, I., WIESE, M., HERMLE, M. & REIN, S. 2015. Optical Simulation and Analysis of Iso-textured Silicon Solar Cells and Modules Including Light Trapping. Energy Procedia, 77, 69-74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.011

GUAN, L., SHEN, G., LIANG, Y., TAN, F., XU, X., TAN, X. & LI, X. 2019. Double-sided pyramid texturing design to reduce the light escape of ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells. Optics & Laser Technology, 120, 105700. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2019.105700

HUO, C., FU, H. & PENG, K.-Q. 2024. Inverted pyramid structures fabricated on monocrystalline silicon surface with a NaOH solution. Heliyon, 10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23871

LEE, J.-K., KO, S.-W., HWANG, H.-M., SHIN, W.-G., JU, Y.-C., KANG, G.-H., SONG, H.-E., EO, Y.-J., BAE, S., PALITZSCH, W., RÖVER, I. & LEE, J.-S. 2024. Crystalline silicon solar cell with an efficiency of 20.05 % remanufactured using 30 % silicon scraps recycled from a waste photovoltaic module. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 277, 113102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2024.113102

LI, N. & FRATALOCCHI, A. 2024. Innovative Strategies for Photons Management on Ultrathin Silicon Solar Cells. Global Challenges, 8, 2300306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/gch2.202300306

MA LU, S., AMADUCCI, S., GORJIAN, S., HAWORTH, M., HÄGGLUND, C., MA, T., ZAINALI, S. & CAMPANA, P. E. 2024. Wavelength-selective solar photovoltaic systems to enhance spectral sharing of sunlight in agrivoltaics. Joule, 8, 2483-2522. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2024.08.006

MAGNIN, V., HARARI, J., HALBWAX, M., BASTIDE, S., CHERFI, D. & VILCOT, J. P. 2014. Angle-dependent ray tracing simulations of reflections on pyramidal textures for silicon solar cells. Solar Energy, 110, 378-385. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.09.025

MANZOOR, S., FILIPIČ, M., ONNO, A., TOPIČ, M. & HOLMAN, Z. C. 2020. Visualizing light trapping within textured silicon solar cells. Journal of Applied Physics, 127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5131173

MCINTOSH, K. R., ABBOTT, M. D. & SUDBURY, B. A. 2016. Ray Tracing Isotextured Solar Cells. Energy Procedia, 92, 122-129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2016.07.041

MUHAMMAD, F. F. & SULAIMAN, K. 2018. Thermal stability and reproducibility enhancement of organic solar cells by tris (hydroxyquinoline) gallium dopant forming a dual acceptor active layer. ARO-The Scientific Journal of Koya University, 6, 69-78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14500/aro.10491

OMAR, H. D. 2024. Upright pyramid surface textures for light trapping and MoOx layer in ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells. ARO-THE SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF KOYA UNIVERSITY, 12, 203-206. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14500/aro.11586

OMAR, H. D. & HAMAD, S. S. 2025. Ray-tracing of vanadium oxide as anti-reflective coating on inverted pyramids silicon for solar cells. Journal of Optics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12596-025-02745-0

PAKHURUDDIN, M. Z. & MD. NOOR, N. A. 2022. Ray Tracing of Thin PERC Silicon Solar Cells with Cone Textures. Key Engineering Materials, 930, 3-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-1me3ip

ROSLE, M. A. A. & PAKHURUDDIN, M. Z. 2023. Investigation on Absorption and Photocurrent in Silicon Absorber with Varied Pyramid Texture Angles by Ray Tracer. Key Engineering Materials, 947, 47-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-0n7i39

SARIEDDINE, R., KADIRI, H., GUELORGET, B., LE CUNFF, L., ALHUSSEIN, A., HABCHI, R. & LÉRONDEL, G. 2024. A Review on Potential Mechanically Resistant Materials for Optical Multifunctional Surfaces: Bioinspired Surfaces with Advanced Properties. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 11, 2300793. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202300793

TAHIR, S., SAEED, R., ASHFAQ, A., ALI, A., MEHMOOD, K., ALMOUSA, N., SHOKRALLA, E. A., MACADANGDANG JR., R. R., SOERIYADI, A. H. & BONILLA, R. S. 2024. Optical modeling and characterization of bifacial SiNx/AlOx dielectric layers for surface passivation and antireflection in PERC. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 32, 63-72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3745

ZAMCHIY, A. O. & BARANOV, E. A. 2022. Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films for Solar Cells via Metal-Induced Layer Exchange Crystallization. Coatings, 12, 1926. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12121926