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Numerical analysis of the efficiency of a nanoporous titanium dioxide antireflection coating for the use in silicon solar panels
Y.E. Geints1, E.K. Panina1

1V.E. Zuev Institute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS, Ploschad Akademika Zueva 1, Tomsk, 634055, Russia

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DOI: 10.18287/COJ1722

Article ID: 1722

Abstract:
The efficiency of solar cells is limited by optical losses due to the partial reflection of incident sunlight. The losses are reduced by using antireflection coatings, in particular a nanoporous titanium dioxide layer. We theoretically study a problem of scattering of the solar light from a silicon substrate of thickness 300 nm with a titanium dioxide coating varying in thicknesses from 25 to 500 nm and of different structural designs. Characteristics of light absorption and scattering by an antireflective layer of two different structural types, formed either as several layers of densely packed nanospheres or as a continuous layer with randomly arranged vertical nanoscale pores filled with air, are studied in detail. It is found that an antireflection coating with large air pores (200 nm in diameter) has the lowest optical reflection and can reduce the reflection coefficient of a silicon layer by up to three times across the entire solar spectrum.

Keywords:
antireflective coating, nanoporous layer, solar cell, light absorption and scattering, sunlight.

Citation:
Geints YE, Panina EK. Numerical analysis of the efficiency of a nanoporous titanium dioxide antireflection coating for the use in silicon solar panels. Computer Optics 2026; 50(2): 1722. DOI: 10.18287/COJ1722.

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