Light trapping in PV cells

There is significant recent interest in designing ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells with active layer thickness of a few micrometers. Efficient light absorption in such thin films requires both broadband antireflection coatings and effective light trapping techniques, which often have different design considerations. In collaboration with physicists from the Sunlit team at C2N-CNRS, we exploit statistical learning methods for the inverse design of material nanostructuring with the goal of optimizing light trapping properties of ultraphin solar cells. This objective is challenging because the underlying electromagnetic wave problems exhibit multiple resonances, while the geometrical settings are non-trivial. Such multi-resonant solar cell structures are attractive for maximizing light absorption for the full solar light spectrum We exploit statistical learning methods for the inverse design of material nanostructuring with the goal of optimizing light trapping properties of ultraphin solar cells. A preliminary study was conducted in collaboration with the Sunlit team (Stéphane Collin) at the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (C2N, CNRS).