Polarization dependent solar cell conversion efficiency at oblique incident angles and the corresponding improvement using surface nanoparticle coating

Despite tremendous efforts on improving the solar cell conversion efficiency at normal incidence, improvement at oblique angles has not been widely addressed, not to mention the corresponding light absorption behaviors at different polarizations. Here we report the characterization of the solar cell conversion efficiency and the spectra of photoresponsivity at various tilted angles. The results show that TM (transverse magnetic) polarized light possesses higher photoresponsivity than TE (transverse electric) polarized light and the difference becomes larger with the incidence angle. To address the issue, a monolayer of silica nanoparticles on the solar cell surface was employed to improve the light absorption. Even though both TE and TM waves show a decrease in the surface reflectivity with the presence of nanoparticles, the interaction between the silica particles and the TE wave is more significant. The improvement of the conversion efficiency for obliquely incident light is explained from the refractive index difference of the nanoparticles for the TE and TM polarizations.