OPTICAL MODEL FOR THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES WITH LARGE SURFACE TEXTURES AT THE FRONT SIDE

An optical model for simulation of thin-film photovoltaic devices with thick surface-textured front components is presented. The model is based on the combination of incoherent geometric optics and coherent wave optics analysis, which are employed separately to simulate light propagation through the front textured component and the bottom flat thin-film component of the device, respectively. The verified model is implemented into the optical simulator CROWM, which is employed to study the light-trapping potential of the front surface-textured protective glass in thin-film photovoltaic modules. The results show that the texturisation in the range of millimetres significantly improves the quantum efficiency of the PV module, which results in 14.3% higher J(SC) compared to the conventional module with flat protective glass.