Application of gahnite-reinforced cyclic olefin copolymer cover sheets on Si solar cell for augmenting the power conversion efficiency

In the past 20 years, the use of photovoltaic cells for electricity generation has grown rapidly for compensating global energy needs. Reflection loss is a contributing factor declining the power conversion efficiency in solar cells, which may be reduced by antireflective coatings on the surface. As of now, there is no optimum antireflective coating available for solar cells which can transmit sun’s radiation without reflection. The present study emphasizes on the designing of cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) coversheets for polycrystalline solar cells to reduce the reflection loss. Further, gahnite (ZnAl 2 O 4 ) was mixed at different wt. % with COC to increase the antireflection properties. The coversheets were fabricated by injection molding process. The performance of solar cells covered by transparent sheets made of cyclic olefin copolymer with gahnite (COCG) was investigated through structural, I–V, optical and surface temperature analyses. The Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) of 16% and 17.89% was measured for COCG4-covered solar cell sample under open and controlled environments, respectively. This enables the solar cell to capture the most incident photons. It is clear from the results that COCG coversheets are potentially useful for reducing reflection loss in polycrystalline Si solar cells.