A Feedback Analytic Algorithm for Maximal Solar Energy Harvesting of InP Stepped Nanocylinders

Abstract

Due to the potential for high energy harvesting capacity, subwavelength scale semiconductor nanostructured arrays are used to address the issue of single-junction thin-film solar cells' limited solar energy harvesting. Along with numerical simulations, an effective and efficient algorithm is crucial to maximizing the optical field modulation and energy trapping capacity of nanostructures. Based on the effective medium theory and the leaky mode resonance, an analytical feedback algorithm is suggested in this study to determine the precise the dimensions of vertically aligned InP stepped nanocylinders (SNCs) for maximum solar energy absorption. For both square and hexagonally arranged two-segment or three-segment InP SNC arrays, the ideal geometrical dimensions were quantitatively estimated for maximum energy harvesting. Densities of short-circuit current Jscs under the AM 1.5G spectrum's illumination as the measurement standard, they were computed for each SNC array. The maximal Jsc of 32.85 mA/cm2 was obtained with square three-segment InP SNC arrays. The optimized SNC arrays for the maximum light absorption are also validated and examined using thorough finite-difference time-domain computational simulations. The algorithm estimated maximum Jsc had tolerances of under 1.8% for all scenarios, which, when compared to simulations, shows that this analytical method offers a practical and efficient means to direct the design of high-performance InP SNC arrays solar cells.

Keywords

• Algorithms
• energy capture
• solar energy