Impact of Texturisation and Anti-Reflective Coatings on Light Absorption Efficiency in Solar Panels

Abstract

The global shift from non-renewable energy sources to clean energy systems has put the existing renewable infrastructure to test. Solar power, the most promising resource for future, faces the barrier of lower efficiency rates than the conventional sources of energy, and thus increasing efficiency of each step involved can ensure its reliability. This study aimed to address the light absorption efficiency of solar cells through experimentation on texturisation and Anti-Reflective Coatings through the online simulator ‘Wafer Ray Tracer’. For the experiment, 3 different materials (Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Oxide, and Silicon Nitride) with texturized and planar surface were used and ray tracing was performed. The results of the experiment showed that all the 3 materials had significantly higher efficiency rates than control (bare silicon wafer) and texturisation of the surface also reduced optical losses to a great extent. Moreover, Texturized Silicon Nitride and Titanium Oxide recorded mean light absorption efficiency close to 98%, compared to 63% of planar Silicon Wafer. Keywords: solar panels, light absorption, texturization, anti-reflective coating