We have investigated the optical parameters effect on the short circuit current and the spectral response of a solar cell. An optical study of a multilayer system using c-Si, a-SiH, GaAs, and CdTe as the active layer of the solar cell shows a maximum of 50 mA/cm(2) for an ideal solar cell and AM1.5 illumination. The optical effect of the refractive index and optical gap of the different layers on the photocell efficiency is discussed.