A Novel Low-Cost, High-Efficiency Micromachined Silicon Solar Cell

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.J. Weber ◽  
A.W. Blakers ◽  
M.J. Stocks ◽  
J.H. Babaei ◽  
V.A. Everett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Silicon Solar Cell ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Low Cost

A Study of Back Electrode Stacked With Low Cost Reflective Layers For High-Efficiency Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cell

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsung-Wei Chang ◽  
Chao-Te Liu ◽  
Wen-Hsi Lee ◽  
Yu-Jen Hsiao
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Silicon Solar Cell ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Visible Region ◽  
Particle Diameter ◽  
Solid Content ◽  
Thin Film Silicon

In this study, commercially available white paint is used as a pigmented dielectric reflector (PDR) in the fabrication of a low-cost back electrode stack with an Al-doped ZnO (AZO) layer for thin-film silicon solar cell applications. An initial AZO film was deposited by the radio-frequency magnetron sputtering method. In order to obtain the highest transmittance and lowest resistivity of AZO film, process parameters such as sputtering power and substrate temperature were investigated. The optimal 100-nm-thick AZO film with low resistivity and high transmittance in the visible region are 6.4 × 10−3 Ω·cm and above 80%, respectively. Using glue-like white paint doped withTiO2 nanoparticles as the PDR enhances the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of a microcrystalline silicon absorptive layer owing to the doped white particles improving Fabry–Pérot interference (FPI), which raises reflectance and scattering ability. To realize the cost down requirement, decreasing the noble metal film thickness such as a 30-nm-thick silver reflector film, and a small doping particle diameter (D50 = 135 nm) and a high solid content (20%) lead to FPI improvement and a great EQE, which is attributed to improved scattering and reflectivity because of optimum diameter (Dopt) and thicker PDR film. The results indicate that white paint can be used as a reflector coating in low-cost back-electrode structures in high-performance electronics.

Advanced, Thin, Polycrystalline Silicon-Film™ Solar Cells on Low-Cost Substrates

1996 ◽  
Vol 426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Hall ◽  
Allen M. Barnett ◽  
Jeff E. Cotter ◽  
David H. Ford ◽  
Alan E. Ingram ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Silicon Solar Cell ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Silicon Film ◽  
Silicon Layer ◽  
Thin Polycrystalline

AbstractThin, polycrystalline silicon solar cells have the potential for the realization of a 15%, lowcost photovoltaic product. As a photovoltaic material, polycrystalline material is abundant, benign, and electrically stable. The thin-film polycrystalline silicon solar cell design achieves high efficiency by incorporating techniques to enhance optical absorption, ensure electrical confinement, and minimize bulk recombination currents. AstroPower's approach to a thin-film polycrystalline silicon solar cell technology is based on the Silicon-Film™ process, a continuous sheet manufacturing process for the growth of thin films of polycrystalline silicon on low-cost substrates. A new barrier layer and substrate have been developed for advanced solar cell designs. External gettering with phosphorus has been employed to effect significant improvements leading to effective minority carrier diffusion lengths greater than 250 micrometers in the active silicon layer. Light trapping has been observed in 60-micrometer thick films of silicon grown on the new barrier-coated substrate. An efficiency of 12.2% in a 0.659 cm2 solar cell has been achieved with the advanced structure.

scholarly journals Superior Antireflection Coating for a Silicon Cell with a Micronanohybrid Structure

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsi-Chien Liu ◽  
Gou-Jen Wang
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Silicon Solar Cell ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Antireflection Coating ◽  
Light Spectrum ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Liquid Diffusion ◽  
Pyramid Structure ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Structure Array

The object of this paper is to develop a high antireflection silicon solar cell. A novel two-stage metal-assisted etching (MAE) method is proposed for the fabrication of an antireflective layer of a micronanohybrid structure array. The processing time for the etching on an N-type high-resistance (NH) silicon wafer can be controlled to around 5 min. The resulting micronanohybrid structure array can achieve an average reflectivity of 1.21% for a light spectrum of 200–1000 nm. A P-N junction on the fabricated micronanohybrid structure array is formed using a low-cost liquid diffusion source. A high antireflection silicon solar cell with an average efficiency of 13.1% can be achieved. Compared with a conventional pyramid structure solar cell, the shorted circuit current of the proposed solar cell is increased by 73%. The major advantage of the two-stage MAE process is that a high antireflective silicon substrate can be fabricated cost-effectively in a relatively short time. The proposed method is feasible for the mass production of low-cost solar cells.

Toward 20% Efficiency With a-Si // poly-Si Tandem Solar Cell

1992 ◽  
Vol 258 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Yoshimi ◽  
W. Ma ◽  
T. Horiuchi ◽  
C. C. Lim ◽  
S. C. De ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Total Efficiency ◽  
Tandem Solar Cell ◽  
Structure Variation ◽  
Technical Data ◽  
Bottom Cell

ABSTRACTA series of experimental investigations has been made on the a-Si // poly-Si tandem solar cell which is one of the most promised candidate of high cost-performance photovoltaic cell, e.g., high efficiency, low cost with almost no light induced degradation. Employing high conductivity with wide optical band gap p type microcrystalline SiC (μ-SiC) as a window material together with a-SiC as an interface buffer layer and also n type μc-Si as a back ohmic contact layer in the poly-Si based bottom cell, the conversion efficiency of 17.2 % has been obtained. Combining an optically transparent a-Si p-i-n cell as a top cell with an optical coupler between the top and the poly-Si bottom cell, a total efficiency of 20.3 % has been obtained so far on the four-terminal stacked mode structure. A systematic technical data for the optimization of cell structure variation on the developed tandem solar cells are presented and further possibility to improving the performance are discussed.

The infrared processing in multicrystalline silicon solar cell low-cost technology

2003 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Panek ◽  
M. Lipiński ◽  
R. Ciach ◽  
K. Drabczyk ◽  
E. Bielańska
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Silicon Solar Cell ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Multicrystalline Silicon
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