TY - JOUR
T1 - Rapid Optimization of External Quantum Efficiency of Thin Film Solar Cells Using Surrogate Modeling of Absorptivity
AU - Kaya, Mine
AU - Hajimirza, Shima
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - This paper uses surrogate modeling for very fast design of thin film solar cells with improved solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency. We demonstrate that the wavelength-specific optical absorptivity of a thin film multi-layered amorphous-silicon-based solar cell can be modeled accurately with Neural Networks and can be efficiently approximated as a function of cell geometry and wavelength. Consequently, the external quantum efficiency can be computed by averaging surrogate absorption and carrier recombination contributions over the entire irradiance spectrum in an efficient way. Using this framework, we optimize a multi-layer structure consisting of ITO front coating, metallic back-reflector and oxide layers for achieving maximum efficiency. Our required computation time for an entire model fitting and optimization is 5 to 20 times less than the best previous optimization results based on direct Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations, therefore proving the value of surrogate modeling. The resulting optimization solution suggests at least 50% improvement in the external quantum efficiency compared to bare silicon, and 25% improvement compared to a random design.
AB - This paper uses surrogate modeling for very fast design of thin film solar cells with improved solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency. We demonstrate that the wavelength-specific optical absorptivity of a thin film multi-layered amorphous-silicon-based solar cell can be modeled accurately with Neural Networks and can be efficiently approximated as a function of cell geometry and wavelength. Consequently, the external quantum efficiency can be computed by averaging surrogate absorption and carrier recombination contributions over the entire irradiance spectrum in an efficient way. Using this framework, we optimize a multi-layer structure consisting of ITO front coating, metallic back-reflector and oxide layers for achieving maximum efficiency. Our required computation time for an entire model fitting and optimization is 5 to 20 times less than the best previous optimization results based on direct Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations, therefore proving the value of surrogate modeling. The resulting optimization solution suggests at least 50% improvement in the external quantum efficiency compared to bare silicon, and 25% improvement compared to a random design.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-018-26469-3
DO - 10.1038/s41598-018-26469-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 29802283
AN - SCOPUS:85047782091
VL - 8
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 8170
ER -