The effect of the sin optical constants on the performances of a new antireflection coating concept

Silicon nitride layers are largely used as effective antireflection coatings. Plasmonic structures based on metal and dielectric nanoparticles are also very attractive for PV applications. Silicon nanoparticles on a silicon nitride layer have been recently proposed as a new antireflection concept. The scattering of the incident light by nanoparticles and the interference antireflection effect of the silicon nitride layer have led to reduced reflection from a silicon surface over a broad spectral range. In this paper, adopting the above concept, numerical modeling is performed to study the effect of the silicon nitride optical constants on the performance of such an antireflection coating. Simulated results showed that a silicon nitride layer with medium silicon content provides better antireflection performances. A weighted reflectance of about 5.2 % from a silicon surface in the spectral range 300-1100 nm is the lower value obtained. A 40.31 mA/cm² short circuit current density is predicted for single junction silicon solar cells. ^Stability of the reflectance under oblique incidence for angles under 40° is observed.