Flattened light-scattering substrate in thin film silicon solar cells for improved infrared response

Surface texturing is a technique commonly used to enhance light absorption in thin film silicon solar cells; it should be noted that highly textured substrates often induce structural defects in the active layer, which deteriorates the photovoltaic performance. In this paper, we propose a flattened light-scattering substrate (FLiSS) with a large refractive index contrast in plane as an approach to overcome this trade-off. A FLiSS composed of a two-dimensional ZnO grating and a Ag reflector is applied to μc-Si:H cells, in order to improve the spectral response in the infrared region while maintaining a high VOC and FF.