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How do reflective coatings on the back of a solar cell increase light capture?
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solar cell
A commonly used solar cell structure. In many such cells, the absorber layer and the back junction layer are both made of the same material.
Reflective coatings on the back of a solar cell are used to improve the device's efficiency by capturing light that would otherwise be lost.
When sunlight enters a solar cell, some photons may pass through the absorber layer without being absorbed. By applying a highly reflective coating to the rear of the cell, any light that reaches the back surface is reflected back into the cell's interior. This process gives the light a second opportunity to be absorbed by the semiconductor material, thereby increasing the total amount of light captured and converted into electricity.1