ABSTRACT
In this chapter we present an approach to one-dimensional (1-D) optical modeling of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) devices, which has turned out to be a successful way to describe (approximate) many of the optical effects in thin-film devices, such as coherent light propagation and scattering at nano-textured interfaces in multilayer structures. Based on the optical model described here, the simulator SunShine was developed and its licenses are used in various thin-film PV companies around the world. The model was applied to thin-film silicon, chalcopyrite, dye-sensitized, and organic solar cells. In this chapter we present the background, explain the details of the approach, and describe its implementation into a model and simulator. Let us explain what the adjective semi-coherent (modeling) refers to: in the approach, the part of direct (specular) light that does not get scattered when passing the nano-textured interfaces preserves its coherent nature, whereas for scattered light incoherent nature is applied. Therefore, the model is semi-coherent-coherent only for specular light.
