Light trapping in spherical silicon solar cell module

The characteristics of light trapping in a module of the spherical solar cells have been studied compared with those of the concentrator for flat plate solar cell. Regarding the light energy accumulated throughout a whole day, we have today that single spherical solar cell collects the light energy 1.5 times larger than the flat plate solar cell, because a sphere can receive light independent of its direction. The optical characteristics of a single spherical cell cannot be effective in the module, because of the reflection at the covered protective flat surface and the interference effects of the surrounding cells in the module. However, a simple module of a spherical solar cell as a concentrator can give a higher collector efficiency than the corresponding concentrator for flat plate cell, because of an enhanced scattering of the reflected light at the spherical cells and an enhanced capturing with the large surface areas of the surrounding spheres.