Application of a c‐Si Solar Cell with a Three‐Dimensional Structure to Indoor Photovoltaics

As individual photovoltaic (PV) power sources for indoor conditions, various types of solar cells including organic, perovskite, and dye-sensitized devices, have been used because they provide better performance under weak lighting conditions; however, they are limited in terms of durability and applicability to larger-sized cells and modules. Crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells address these issues as an economical alternative. Here, to overcome low performance under weak lighting conditions, such as indoor lighting, a three-dimensional structured c-Si solar cell is developed to enhance the surface area of the cell for improved indirect light acquisition. With our design prototype, the power output increases by nearly two-fold using a tetrahedron-structured c-Si solar cell compared to its flat two-dimensional counterpart. Further improvements in the power output are expected to be achieved for the 3-D c-Si solar cell by minimizing mismatch losses, which is a common problem associated with this PV device.