Modelling of light scattering from micro- and nanotextured surfaces

We present a calculation routine for the angular and spectral dependence of scattered light after transmission through textured interfaces. Based on a modified Rayleigh–Sommerfeld integral, the treatment requires only measured surface profiles, and the refractive indices of the two materials adjacent to the textured interface but no fitting parameter. For typical surface morphologies used in solar cell fabrication, the calculations correctly reproduce the angle resolved scattering at 543 nm and the total scattered light intensity in the spectral range from 400 to 2000 nm. The model is then applied to predict the behavior of the interface between ZnO and silicon in a thin film solar cell which is not experimentally accessible. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.