A Theoretical Study on the Efficiencies of Black Silicon Photovoltaic Cells in Thermophotovoltaic Applications

Silicon photovoltaic cells have been widely used in harvesting solar energy, and research efforts have driven significant improvements in the efficiencies of the photovoltaic cells. However, research on the application of silicon photovoltaic cells in thermophotovoltaic systems is significantly underdeveloped. In this study, a simulation study was conducted to study the performance of a black silicon photovoltaic cell in thermophotovoltaic applications. The photovoltaic cell was paired with two emitters made of different materials: a 1735 K Yb2O3 emitter, and a 1500 K Ta PhC emitter. The results of the simulation showed that when paired with the Yb2O3 emitter and the Ta PhC emitter, the cell efficiency was 1.7% and 0.76% respectively. The low efficiency in both was attributed to the limited amount of energy that is available above the band gap of silicon. The simulation results indicate that the Yb2O3 yielded better efficiency, as the selectivity of the emitter was better compared to the Ta PhC emitter.