Article
Energy & Fuels
Qian Huang, Jing Zhao, Yongliang Chen, Jing Wang, Ying Zhao, Xiaodan Zhang, Guofu Hou
Summary: Light trapping is crucial in the design of photovoltaics with thin absorbers, and incorporating textured surfaces with different nanostructures is a key strategy. Studies have shown that a plasmonic modulated back reflector can effectively improve light-trapping performance and reduce parasitic absorption.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2021)
Article
Mathematics, Applied
E. Seim, A. Kohler, R. Lukacs, M. A. Brandsrud, E. S. Marstein, E. Olsen, R. Blumel
Summary: The research team maximizes absorption by trapping light rays in chaotic scattering systems and proposes the use of an autocorrelation function to assess the average path length of rays as a possible experimental method to verify light-trapping efficiency.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Parisa Zarerasouli, Hamid Bahador, Hamid Heidarzadeh
Summary: This paper discusses the use of a cluster back reflector in an ultra-thin film CIGS solar cell to improve optical parameters. The cluster nanostructure consists of four silver nanoparticles embedded in the back surface of the active layer. Among the studied cases, the cylindrical nanostructure is selected as the most efficient back reflector by optimizing the effective parameters of the plasmonic phenomenon. The analysis mainly focuses on the short-circuit current density, while power conversion efficiency, absorption spectrum, and light transmission are also studied. As a result, the localized surface plasmon resonance enhancement leads to short-circuit current density of 27.2 mA/cm2 and power conversion efficiency of 15.7%, compared to 19 mA/cm2 and 10.7% for the bare state.
Article
Optics
Mohammad Ali Shameli, Leila Yousefi
Summary: A new method utilizing multi-scale photonic topological insulators to enhance sunlight absorption in thin film solar cells is proposed in this paper, and full wave numerical analysis demonstrates significant improvement in short circuit current of the solar cell.
OPTICS AND LASER TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Optics
Waqas Farooq, Thamraa Alshahrani, Syed Asfandyar Ali Kazmi, Javed Iqbal, Hassnain Abbas Khan, Mahmood Khan, Arsalan Ahmad Raja, Atteq ur Rehman
Summary: This paper presents a novel architecture to reduce reflection losses in solar cells using the DBR technique, resulting in improved performance parameters. The structure with BSF and DBR pairs shows enhanced performance parameters compared to structures without these layers.
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Mehran Abdolrahimi Shahamat, Hamid Heidarzadeh, Hamid Bahador
Summary: In this paper, a systematic design of a novel back reflector using chirped grating structures for thin-film amorphous silicon solar cells is investigated. The results show that the use of chirped back grating can increase the photocurrent and improve the optical absorption, which is helpful in designing higher performance thin film solar cells.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hongen Li, Yizhi Hu, Hao Wang, Qi Tao, Yonggang Zhu, Yue Yang
Summary: A composite light-trapping structure is proposed in this study, utilizing a double-layer antireflection coating on the upper surface and Ag hemispheres on the substrate to enhance full-spectrum light absorption. The light-trapping effects remain efficient over different thicknesses of the active layer, with the short-circuit current density (J(sc)) of thin-film solar cells approaching the theoretical limit with the optimized structure.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Md. Seraj Uddin, C. Vijayan, J. K. Rath
Summary: An optical simulation is performed on a planar monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell with an intermediate reflector layer (IRL) to study light management. The simulation results show that the incorporation of different reflector layers can enhance the optical absorptance of the top and bottom sub-cells, with the combination of a topologically flat but optically rough (TFOR) IRL yielding the best results. Furthermore, the simulation also reveals that the introduction of the reflector layer leads to a reduction in the light absorption of the top sub-cell and a higher electric field concentration in the bottom sub-cell.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Stefano Pasini, Donato Spoltore, Antonella Parisini, Stefano Marchionna, Laura Fornasini, Danilo Bersani, Roberto Fornari, Alessio Bosio
Summary: Among promising thin-film photovoltaic materials, Sb2Se3 (ASe) shows great potential due to its abundance of Earth elements and favorable optical and electrical properties. In this study, a Fe-S-O based back contact was proposed for ASe solar cells, which exhibited an ohmic contact and a contact resistivity of 0.8 Omega center dot cm(2). The performance of the solar cells remained stable after three months of testing.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hafiz Tariq Masood, Shoaib Anwer, Syed Awais Rouf, Asif Nawaz, Tariq Javed, Tariq Munir, Lianxi Zheng, Wang Deliang
Summary: By utilizing hydrothermally synthesized WO3 nanosheets, a unique thin-film back contact was designed for CdTe solar cells, replacing traditional Cu contacts. The energy barrier at the WO3/CdTe interface was significantly reduced, resulting in improved performance of CdTe thin-film solar cells with WO3 NSs as a buffer layer.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Tudor E. Scheul, Edris Khorani, Tasmiat Rahman, Martin D. B. Charlton, Stuart A. Boden
Summary: The study utilized wavelength and angle resolved scattering (WARS) reflectance measurements on b-Si surfaces to analyze light scattering effects. It was found that large angle scattering occurs across the entire spectrum, especially for shorter wavelengths and taller texture features, resulting in significant light trapping through total internal reflectance (TIR) at various interfaces. This led to a calculated additional boost of up to 0.45% in the photogenerated current of encapsulated black silicon solar cells.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Palash Dhara, Rabibrata Mukherjee
Summary: This paper reports on the morphology, phase separation, instability, and dewetting of Polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) thin film comprising nematic liquid crystal, 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB), and Polystyrene (PS). It is found that the thickness and composition of the film play a crucial role in their properties, and topographically patterned substrates can help align the phase-separated LC domains.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jianming Ding, Shuai Zou, Chengkun Wu, Leilei Shen, Jonghyung Choi, Junhu Cui, Dichun Yuan, Hua Sun, Xiaohong Zhang, Xiaodong Su
Summary: Light management is an important method to increase the efficiency of PERC solar cells. By integrating SiOxNy and SiNx dielectric films on the front and rear surfaces, the short circuit current and internal reflection of the cells were improved, resulting in a significant increase of about 80 mA in the champion samples compared to the baseline group.
PROGRESS IN PHOTOVOLTAICS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
H. Rahimi, M. J. Karimi, S. Ghajarpour-Nobandegani
Summary: This study investigates the absorption efficiency of a thin-film solar cell composed of metallic nanowires and semiconductors, with results showing over 90% absorption using a rectangular-nanowire system and semi-circular nanowire cross-section in specific wavelength ranges. The high absorption in the visible region could potentially benefit the design of plasmonic solar cells.
Article
Physics, Applied
E. G. Zaytseva, O. Naumova, A. K. Gutakovskii
Summary: In this study, the coupling-effect was utilized to redistribute charge carriers in silicon-on-insulator thin films to determine the effective mobility near the interface under study. The temperature dependences of mobility were used to extract components of effective mobility related to phonon and interface roughness scattering of the carriers. The suggested approach can be used for non-destructive analysis of interface quality in films.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS D-APPLIED PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Frank Meyer, Andrea Ingenito, Juan J. Diaz Leon, Xavier Niquille, Christophe Allebe, Sylvain Nicolay, Franz-Josef Haug, Christophe Ballif
Summary: This work presents the development of passivating contacts for two side contacted c-Si solar cells based on thin interfacial oxide/doped polysilicon. Optimization of layer thickness led to solar cells with high open circuit voltage and fill factor. Localization of the front side passivating contact was achieved through deposition with a shadow mask, resulting in high-efficiency c-Si solar cells with promising efficiency.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Andrew Fairbrother, Hugo Quest, Ebrar Ozkalay, Philipp Walchli, Gabi Friesen, Christophe Ballif, Alessandro Virtuani
Summary: This study reports on the long-term performance of 55 BIPV systems in Switzerland, finding a median degradation rate of 0.06% per year with significant variation. An algorithm was developed to estimate shading severity in systems experiencing shading issues. It was observed that newer systems have higher shading severity while larger capacity systems have lower shading severity, emphasizing the importance of innovative BIPV module and system design to alleviate shading stresses.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Audrey Morisset, Theodosios Famprikis, Franz-Josef Haug, Andrea Ingenito, Christophe Ballif, Lars J. Bannenberg
Summary: This study investigates the structural evolution of poly-Si contacts using in situ X-ray techniques, revealing the densification and thinning of the poly-Si layer during annealing, as well as the disruption of the thin SiOx layer at high temperature. The results emphasize the importance of controlling high-temperature processes when fabricating c-Si solar cells.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jakub Holovsky, Jakub Sebera, Vladimir Sychrovsky, Jan Zemen, Stefaan De Wolf, Christophe Ballif
Summary: In this work, periodic DFT simulations were used to assign vibrational spectra on nanorough wet-processed hydrogenated Si(111) surfaces, providing a better understanding of the imperfect and nanorough Si(111) surfaces through vibrational spectroscopy.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Article
Instruments & Instrumentation
Janina Loeffler, Jonathan Thomet, Samira Frey, Christophe Ballif, Nicolas Wyrsch
Summary: A Monte Carlo model-based study is presented to investigate the dynamic process of electron multiplication in microchannels based on amorphous silicon. The study provides insights into the geometrical limitations and time resolution of amorphous silicon based microchannel plates. The model is implemented in a finite element method simulator to estimate the electron multiplication gain and time response for channels with different geometries. Results show that amorphous silicon based microchannel plates have the potential for ultrafast measurements.
NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS & METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH SECTION A-ACCELERATORS SPECTROMETERS DETECTORS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Arttu Tuomiranta, Pierre-Jean Alet, Christophe Ballif, Hosni Ghedira
Summary: This paper proposes geographically generalised parametrisations for time-variant albedo models and a method for deriving white-sky albedo without diffuse irradiance data. Practical guidelines are given for the calibration time and weather conditions. Geometric mean shows the most robust performance at most sites.
Article
Energy & Fuels
F-J Haug, S. Libraro, M. Lehmann, A. Morisset, A. Ingenito, C. Ballif
Summary: This study investigates bulk and interface recombination in crystalline silicon with p-type fired passivating contacts. It is found that bulk defects close to one of the band edges are formed at temperatures between 450 and 700 degrees C, but they are progressively cured at temperatures above 800 degrees C. At the same time, the surface passivation deteriorates at temperatures above 800 degrees C, allowing the injection of a recombination current into the SiCx layer. A trade-off for the effective minority carrier lifetime is observed between 800 and 830 degrees C.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Mario Lehmann, Anatole Desthieux, Nathalie Valle, Audrey Morisset, Philippe Wyss, Santhana Eswara, Tom Wirtz, Andrea Ingenito, Pere Roca i Cabarrocas, Christophe Ballif, Franz-Josef Haug
Summary: This article investigates the effect of various processing steps during the fabrication of c-Si/SiOx/SiCx fired passivating contacts on the silicon bulk lifetime, as well as the kinetics of defect deactivation by hydrogenation. The results show a faster passivation of the surface and a slower passivation of shallow bulk defects. The kinetics of the hydrogenation process is limited by the available hydrogen supply at the c-Si/SiOx interface, rather than by diffusion within the bulk of the wafer.
IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS
(2022)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Christophe Ballif, Franz-Josef Haug, Mathieu Boccard, Pierre J. Verlinden, Giso Hahn
Summary: This paper reviews the recent evolution of crystalline silicon solar cells, analyzes the current status of research and industrial development, and looks into the future prospects. The improvements in materials and processing have greatly reduced the cost and increased the efficiency of crystalline silicon photovoltaics, making it an important low-cost source of electricity. The paper also discusses the challenges and requirements for other photovoltaic technologies to compete with silicon on the mass market.
NATURE REVIEWS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Laurie-Lou Senaud, Gabriel Christmann, Luca Antognini, Antoine Descoeudres, Jonas Geissbuhler, Mathieu Boccard, Sylvain Nicolay, Matthieu Despeisse, Christophe Ballif, Bertrand Paviet-Salomon
Summary: This study investigates and characterizes the electrical losses affecting the collection of photogenerated carriers in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. It explores the material properties controlling the physical coupling between the n-type hydrogenated silicon and the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers, and develops different material layers to study the device performance. The study also optimizes the multilayers to achieve low series resistance and high passivation.
IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Luca Antognini, Corentin Sthioul, Julie Dreon, Vincent Paratte, Deniz Tuerkay, Laurie-Lou Senaud, Christophe Ballif, Mathieu Boccard
Summary: In this study, the researchers performed experiments on the thickness and PH3 doping of nc-Si:H(n) layers to investigate their desirable characteristics along the growth direction. It was found that increasing the PH3 flow is necessary to improve the conductivity, but too high flows lead to amorphization of the layers. To overcome this, a thin a-Si:H(n) layer was integrated underneath the nc-Si:H(n) layer, and the impact of higher ITO doping and SiOx capping was also studied.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Shahriyar Safat Dipta, Md Habibur Rahaman, Walia Binte Tarique, Ashraful Hossain Howlader, Ayush Pratik, John A. Stride, Ashraf Uddin
Summary: Implementing a double-sided passivation approach can enhance the performance of n-i-p structured PSCs and improve the stability and photovoltaic properties of the cells.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Daniel Ourinson, Andreas Brand, Andreas Lorenz, Marwan Dhamrin, Sebastian Tepner, Michael Linse, Nathalie Goettlicher, Kosuke Tsuji, Jonas D. Huyeng, Florian Clement
Summary: This work presents two approaches to reduce the amount of silver on the rear side of M2-sized industrial iTOPCon solar cells. The Cu-based approach shows promise with similar power conversion efficiency compared to the conventional approach, while the Al-based approach exhibits some limitations but demonstrates the potential of such type of contact for iTOPCon solar cells.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Abasifreke Ebong, Donald Intal, Sandra Huneycutt, Thad Druffel, Ruvini Dharmadasa, Kevin Elmer, Apolo Nambo
Summary: This study demonstrates the successful metallization of a PERC silicon solar cell using screen-printable copper (Cu) paste. The Cu paste contains antioxidant additives and diffusion inhibitors to prevent oxidation and diffusion of Cu. The Cu-printed cells achieved an efficiency of 19% and showed no Cu diffusion after characterization tests. The long-term stability and effectiveness of the Cu diffusion barrier were also confirmed.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Senami Zogbo, Wilfried Favre, Olivier Bonino, Marie-Estelle Gueunier-Farret
Summary: Measuring specific contact resistivity (pc) is crucial for interface engineering in high efficiency solar cells. The Transfer Length Method (TLM) is commonly used for evaluating layer sheet resistance (Rsheet) and pc, but it is not suitable for metal/Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) interface evaluation in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) cells. This study investigates the parameters that restrict current confinement within the TCO, including mid-gap trap density (Dit) at the a-Si:H/c-Si interface and the activation energy (Ea = Ec - EF) variation of a-Si:H contact layers.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jean-Baptiste Charpentier, Philippe Voarino, Julien Gaume
Summary: The phenomenon of ribbon lengthening in PV modules exposed to thermal cycling is not well explained in the literature. In this study, a three layers model is proposed to explain this effect, and the predictions of the model are validated through finite element method simulations and experiments. The results show that the model predictions are consistent with the indirect measurements, but not with the direct measurements. Additionally, it is inferred that the encapsulant plays a role after the solder failure.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jean-Baptiste Charpentier, Philippe Voarino, Julien Gaume
Summary: This study investigates the problematic ribbon lengthening observed in PV modules exposed to high amplitude thermal cycling. A simplified system model is proposed and accurate predictions are obtained using the Finite Element Method. The results show that the thickness of the encapsulant has a substantial impact on the lengthening of the ribbons.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
S. Catalan-Gomez, E. Martinez Castellano, M. Schwarz, M. Montes Bajo, L. Dorado Vargas, A. Gonzalo, A. Redondo-Cubero, A. Gallego Carro, A. Hierro, J. M. Ulloa
Summary: This study investigates the use of core-shell gallium nanoparticles as functional light scatterers on solar cells. By optimizing the nanoparticle size, the short-circuit current of the solar cells is significantly improved. The underlying physical mechanism is studied through optical measurements and simulations, and a method to reduce the plasmonic effect of the nanoparticles is demonstrated.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
M. Gamel, G. Lopez, A. M. Medrano, A. Jimenez, A. Datas, M. Garin, I. Martin
Summary: In this study, a highly reflective ohmic contact to p-type c-Ge material is demonstrated, which can improve the efficiency of thermophotovoltaic devices. The experimental results show that this contact can simultaneously meet the requirements of good back surface passivation, low electrical resistivity, and high reflectivity. Moreover, simulations suggest that implementing these back contacts has the potential to achieve conversion efficiencies comparable to high-efficiency c-Ge TPV cells.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hongyang Wei, Qing Xu, Dongchu Chen, Min Chen, Menglei Chang, Xiufang Ye
Summary: This study prepared solar selective absorption films based on anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) photonic crystals using a unique electrodeposition method. The Co-Ag electrodeposited film exhibited superior solar selective absorption properties and thermal stability.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ankit Kumar, Ankit Chauhan, Jordi Llobet, Helder Fonseca, Patricia C. Sousa, Carlos Calaza, Gil Shalev
Summary: This study found that decorating subwavelength arrays with SiO2 quasi-nanolenses (qNL arrays) can enhance the absorption of the solar spectrum. Optical absorption mechanisms in qNL arrays were investigated using near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), revealing that the enhancement is a result of the combination of effective antireflection coating, increased optical interactions between adjacent dielectrics for elevated light trapping, and strong light concentration due to the presence of qNLs.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
S. Pingel, T. Wenzel, N. Goettlicher, M. Linse, L. Folcarelli, J. Schube, S. Hoffmann, S. Tepner, Y. C. Lau, J. Huyeng, A. Lorenz, F. Clement
Summary: This study demonstrates the potential to reduce silver consumption in highly efficient SHJ cells through fine-line screen printing using low temperature paste with various screens. The results show that using finer mesh allows for narrower grid fingers and lower resistance, leading to improved cell efficiency. Simulation results indicate that module wire configuration is crucial for reducing silver consumption.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Xibo He, Jun Qiu, Wei Wang, Yicheng Hou, Yong Shuai
Summary: This paper proposes a novel phase change material with high thermal conductivity and stability for fast photo-thermal conversion and storage. The experimental results demonstrate excellent durability and stability of the phase change material, with good performance in thermal conductivity and thermal storage efficiency.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Qingyuan Liu, Lin Wang, Zheng Liu, Guohua Liu
Summary: A new evaporating structure consisting of liquid marble with tunable nanowire array is proposed to enhance solar evaporation. The experiments show that the liquid marble with nanowire array exhibits outstanding evaporation performance, which has significant implications for seawater desalination or wastewater treatment.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Hao Liu, Qiming Liu, Jinpei Liu, Yonggang Zhao, Yingjie Yu, Yue An, Ganghui Wei, Yanzheng Li, Yujun Fu, Junshuai Li, Deyan He
Summary: Moisture in the air is identified as the main cause of performance degradation in organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells. Exposure to air leads to the growth of thin oxide layer on the interface and the formation of silver sulfide, increasing the series resistance and decreasing the fill factor, thus degrading the cell performance.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)
Article
Energy & Fuels
E. Blanco, P. Martin, M. Dominguez, P. Fernandez-Palacios, I. Lombardero, C. Sanchez-Perez, I. Garcia, C. Algora, M. Gabas
Summary: This study addresses the lack of optical parameters for p-type Ge wafers by determining the complex refractive indices of commercial Ge wafers with varying doping levels. The obtained data successfully reproduces the critical points associated with interband transitions and absorption features below the bandgap. The refractive indices were validated through experimental measurements and solar cell simulations.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2024)