Experiments with resonant thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells

We present measured optical and electrical characteristics of guided-mode resonant hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film solar cells. Nano-patterns with a 300-nm period and a 50-nm grating depth are fabricated on glass substrates, followed by the deposition of a transparent conducting oxide layer as a top contact. About 320-nm thick p-i-n thin-film a-Si:H solar cell is deposited on indium-tin-oxide coated glass substrate, followed by the deposition of a bottom contact layer. Compared to a planar reference solar cell, similar to 40% integrated absorption enhancement is observed for the 450-750-nm wavelength range. Short circuit current density of the nano-patterned solar cell is obtained as 14.1 mA/cm(2), which is similar to 50% improvement over the reference planar cell.