3D-printed concentrator arrays for external light trapping on thin film solar cells

Lourens van Dijk; E. A. Pepijn Marcus; A. Jolt Oostra; Ruud E. I. Schropp; Marcel Di Vece

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2015.03.002

3D-printed concentrator arrays for external light trapping on thin film solar cells

Lourens van Dijk^*, E. A. Pepijn Marcus, A. Jolt Oostra, Ruud E. I. Schropp, Marcel Di Vece

^*Corresponding author for this work

Nanophotonics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

After our recent demonstration of a 3D-printed external light trap on a small solar cell, we now consider its potential for large solar panels. An external light trap consists of a parabolic concentrator and a spacer that redirects the photons that are reflected by the solar cell back towards the solar cell. These retro-reflections enable higher absorptance and improved power conversion efficiency. Scaling a single external light trap such that it covers a large solar panel has disadvantages in terms of height and cost of the external light trap. These disadvantages can be overcome by deploying an array of concentrators as the top part of the external light trap. We present an optimization study of concentrator arrays for external light trapping. We fabricated 3D-printed external light traps with a square, hexagonal and circular compound parabolic concentrator to test their suitability for concentrator arrays. The 3D-printed traps were placed on top of an organic solar cell which resulted in a significant enhancement of the external quantum efficiency. The required transmittance of these concentrator arrays is calculated as a function of the parameters of both the concentrator and the solar cell. We compare the theoretical and experimentally determined optical performance of the different concentrators. Finally, the prospects of external light trapping are analyzed and we give guidelines for improvements of the external light trap design. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	19-26
Number of pages	8
Journal	Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Volume	139
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2015.03.002
Publication status	Published - Aug 2015

Funding

The authors acknowledge the insightful discussions with and the help of J. Rath, J. van de Groep, Gerhard A. Blab, T. Budel, K. Bakker, and Jasper J. Michels. The authors are grateful to the Amsterdam Nanocenter at the FOM institute AMOLF for the use of their clean-room facilities. This work was supported in part by the funding provided by the NanonextNL program and the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation and the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013, Grant agreement n281027).

Keywords

3D printing
Anti-reflection
External light trapping
Non-imaging optics
Organic solar cells
Parabolic concentrator array
SILICON
EFFICIENCY
ANGLE
MULTICRYSTALLINE
PRINCIPLES
EMISSION
DESIGN

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1-s2.0-S0927024815001075-mainFinal published version, 2.49 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "3D-printed concentrator arrays for external light trapping on thin film solar cells",

abstract = "After our recent demonstration of a 3D-printed external light trap on a small solar cell, we now consider its potential for large solar panels. An external light trap consists of a parabolic concentrator and a spacer that redirects the photons that are reflected by the solar cell back towards the solar cell. These retro-reflections enable higher absorptance and improved power conversion efficiency. Scaling a single external light trap such that it covers a large solar panel has disadvantages in terms of height and cost of the external light trap. These disadvantages can be overcome by deploying an array of concentrators as the top part of the external light trap. We present an optimization study of concentrator arrays for external light trapping. We fabricated 3D-printed external light traps with a square, hexagonal and circular compound parabolic concentrator to test their suitability for concentrator arrays. The 3D-printed traps were placed on top of an organic solar cell which resulted in a significant enhancement of the external quantum efficiency. The required transmittance of these concentrator arrays is calculated as a function of the parameters of both the concentrator and the solar cell. We compare the theoretical and experimentally determined optical performance of the different concentrators. Finally, the prospects of external light trapping are analyzed and we give guidelines for improvements of the external light trap design. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.",

keywords = "3D printing, Anti-reflection, External light trapping, Non-imaging optics, Organic solar cells, Parabolic concentrator array, SILICON, EFFICIENCY, ANGLE, MULTICRYSTALLINE, PRINCIPLES, EMISSION, DESIGN",

author = "{van Dijk}, Lourens and Marcus, {E. A. Pepijn} and Oostra, {A. Jolt} and Schropp, {Ruud E. I.} and {Di Vece}, Marcel",

year = "2015",

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doi = "10.1016/j.solmat.2015.03.002",

language = "English",

volume = "139",

pages = "19--26",

journal = "Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells",

issn = "0927-0248",

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T1 - 3D-printed concentrator arrays for external light trapping on thin film solar cells

AU - van Dijk, Lourens

AU - Marcus, E. A. Pepijn

AU - Oostra, A. Jolt

AU - Schropp, Ruud E. I.

AU - Di Vece, Marcel

PY - 2015/8

Y1 - 2015/8

N2 - After our recent demonstration of a 3D-printed external light trap on a small solar cell, we now consider its potential for large solar panels. An external light trap consists of a parabolic concentrator and a spacer that redirects the photons that are reflected by the solar cell back towards the solar cell. These retro-reflections enable higher absorptance and improved power conversion efficiency. Scaling a single external light trap such that it covers a large solar panel has disadvantages in terms of height and cost of the external light trap. These disadvantages can be overcome by deploying an array of concentrators as the top part of the external light trap. We present an optimization study of concentrator arrays for external light trapping. We fabricated 3D-printed external light traps with a square, hexagonal and circular compound parabolic concentrator to test their suitability for concentrator arrays. The 3D-printed traps were placed on top of an organic solar cell which resulted in a significant enhancement of the external quantum efficiency. The required transmittance of these concentrator arrays is calculated as a function of the parameters of both the concentrator and the solar cell. We compare the theoretical and experimentally determined optical performance of the different concentrators. Finally, the prospects of external light trapping are analyzed and we give guidelines for improvements of the external light trap design. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

AB - After our recent demonstration of a 3D-printed external light trap on a small solar cell, we now consider its potential for large solar panels. An external light trap consists of a parabolic concentrator and a spacer that redirects the photons that are reflected by the solar cell back towards the solar cell. These retro-reflections enable higher absorptance and improved power conversion efficiency. Scaling a single external light trap such that it covers a large solar panel has disadvantages in terms of height and cost of the external light trap. These disadvantages can be overcome by deploying an array of concentrators as the top part of the external light trap. We present an optimization study of concentrator arrays for external light trapping. We fabricated 3D-printed external light traps with a square, hexagonal and circular compound parabolic concentrator to test their suitability for concentrator arrays. The 3D-printed traps were placed on top of an organic solar cell which resulted in a significant enhancement of the external quantum efficiency. The required transmittance of these concentrator arrays is calculated as a function of the parameters of both the concentrator and the solar cell. We compare the theoretical and experimentally determined optical performance of the different concentrators. Finally, the prospects of external light trapping are analyzed and we give guidelines for improvements of the external light trap design. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

KW - 3D printing

KW - Anti-reflection

KW - External light trapping

KW - Non-imaging optics

KW - Organic solar cells

KW - Parabolic concentrator array

KW - SILICON

KW - EFFICIENCY

KW - ANGLE

KW - MULTICRYSTALLINE

KW - PRINCIPLES

KW - EMISSION

KW - DESIGN

U2 - 10.1016/j.solmat.2015.03.002

DO - 10.1016/j.solmat.2015.03.002

M3 - Article

SN - 0927-0248

VL - 139

SP - 19

EP - 26

JO - Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

JF - Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

ER -

3D-printed concentrator arrays for external light trapping on thin film solar cells

Abstract

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Keywords

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