Advanced Optical Simulation of Photovoltaic Devices*

Optical absorption enhancement is an effective route to improve photovoltaic (PV) power conversion efficiency. Numerical simulation can assist with the implementation of certain design features such as layer thicknesses/properties, anti-reflective coatings, textured surfaces, plasmonic effects, and other means to optimize absorption while reducing materials usage. In this work, COMOSL Multiphysics wave optics and semiconductor interfaces are used to solve Maxwell's equation for the optical electromagnetic field in a PV device and the transport equations to predict the resulting PCE. Quantum efficiency data for a copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) cell is used for model validation. We compare our results to the freeware program e-ARC. Both programs have pros and cons that will be discussed.