Improved GaAs metal-oxide semiconductor solar cells with a spin-on oxide layer

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 716-717
Author(s):  
P. Sircar ◽  
R. Dat

A thin native oxide layer grown on GaAs is known to increase the Schottky barrier solar cell efficiency by 60% over a baseline cell, due mainly to a higher open-circuit voltage. A physically-deposited oxide layer shows better efficiency and stability. A spin-on oxide layer is found to cause a higher relative increase in efficiency due to an increase in open-circuit voltage, as well as in short-circuit current.

MRS Advances ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (14) ◽  
pp. 767-775
Author(s):  
M.A. Borysiewicz ◽  
S. Chusnutdinow ◽  
M. Wzorek ◽  
T. Wojciechowski

ABSTRACTWe show that by subsequent sensitization of nanostructured ZnO photoanodes with N-719 and Rose Bengal dyes an improvement or worsening of the cell efficiency may be obtained, relating to photoanodes sensitized with N-719 dye only (JSC = 2.97 mA/cm2, VOC = 0.68 V, η = 0.99%) depending on the order in which the dyes are applied. We observe that for the case when the N-719 dye is followed by Rose Bengal an increase in efficiency, short circuit current and open circuit voltage is observed (JSC = 3.95 mA/cm2, VOC = 0.71 V, η = 1.26%), which we relate to the cascade band alignment of the ZnO and the dyes. In the case when Rose Bengal is first on ZnO followed by N-719, a lowering of all parameters is observed (JSC = 2.86 mA/cm2, VOC = 0.64 V, η = 0.94%) due to the trap band alignment. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements and modelling confirmed this theory showing longer electron lifetimes in the photoanode for the cascade band alignment, enhancing electron-hole separation, than for the trap alignment, facilitating electron-hole recombination.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Adnan Alwan Mouhammed ◽  
Ayed N. Saleh

The effect of Ga2O3 thickness on CdTe cells was studied using the SCAPS-1D simulator. The best solar cell efficiency (14.65%) was found at the thickness of the gallium oxide layer (1-10nm) and the cell efficiency (η) decrease with an increase in the thickness of the oxide layer and the decrease of the fill factor, thus decreasing the voltage current (I-V) and decreasing the current of the short circuit (Isc). The value of the open circuit voltage (VOC) is approximately constant and at 0.76V. The optical properties of the cell of quantitative efficiency are 86% and decrease within 18nm   http://dx.doi.org/10.25130/tjps.24.2019.116


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Alessandro Romeo ◽  
Elisa Artegiani

CdTe is a very robust and chemically stable material and for this reason its related solar cell thin film photovoltaic technology is now the only thin film technology in the first 10 top producers in the world. CdTe has an optimum band gap for the Schockley-Queisser limit and could deliver very high efficiencies as single junction device of more than 32%, with an open circuit voltage of 1 V and a short circuit current density exceeding 30 mA/cm2. CdTe solar cells were introduced at the beginning of the 70s and they have been studied and implemented particularly in the last 30 years. The strong improvement in efficiency in the last 5 years was obtained by a new redesign of the CdTe solar cell device reaching a single solar cell efficiency of 22.1% and a module efficiency of 19%. In this paper we describe the fabrication process following the history of the solar cell as it was developed in the early years up to the latest development and changes. Moreover the paper also presents future possible alternative absorbers and discusses the only apparently controversial environmental impacts of this fantastic technology.


Solar Energy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 198-210
Author(s):  
Ahsan Nadeem ◽  
Hadeed Ahmed Sher ◽  
Ali Faisal Murtaza ◽  
Nisar Ahmed

2017 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zainal Arifin ◽  
Sudjito Soeparman ◽  
Denny Widhiyanuriyawan ◽  
Suyitno Suyitno ◽  
Argatya Tara Setyaji

Natural dyes have attracted much researcher’s attention due to their low-cost production, simple synthesis processes and high natural abundance. However the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based natural dyes have higher tendency to degradation. This article reports on the enhancement of performance and stability of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using natural dyes. The natural dyes were extracted from papaya leaves by ethanol solvent at a temperature of 50 °C. Then the extracted dyes were isolated and modified into Mg-chlorophyll using column chromatography. Mg-chlorophyll was then synthesized into Fe-chlorophyll to improve stability. The natural dyes were characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The performance of DSSCs was tested using a solar simulator. The results showed the open-circuit voltage, the short-circuit current density, and the efficiency of the extracted papaya leaves-based DSSCs to be 325 mV, 0.36 mA/cm2, and 0.07%, respectively. Furthermore, the DSSCs with purified chlorophyll provide high open-circuit voltage of 425 mV and short-circuit current density of 0.45 mA/cm2. The use of Fe-chlorophyll for sensitizing the DSSCs increases the efficiency up to 2.5 times and the stability up to two times. The DSSCs with Fe-chlorophyll dyes provide open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and efficiency of 500 mV, 0.62 mA/cm2, and 0.16%, respectively. Further studies to improve the current density and stability of natural dye-based DSSCs along with an improvement in the anchor between dyes and semiconducting layers are required.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1802-1808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Atamanuk ◽  
Justin Luria ◽  
Bryan D Huey

The nanoscale optoelectronic properties of materials can be especially important for polycrystalline photovoltaics including many sensor and solar cell designs. For thin film solar cells such as CdTe, the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current are especially critical performance indicators, often varying between and even within individual grains. A new method for directly mapping the open-circuit voltage leverages photo-conducting AFM, along with an additional proportional-integral-derivative feedback loop configured to maintain open-circuit conditions while scanning. Alternating with short-circuit current mapping efficiently provides complementary insight into the highly microstructurally sensitive local and ensemble photovoltaic performance. Furthermore, direct open-circuit voltage mapping is compatible with tomographic AFM, which additionally leverages gradual nanoscale milling by the AFM probe essentially for serial sectioning. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional results for CdTe solar cells during in situ illumination reveal local to mesoscale contributions to PV performance based on the order of magnitude variations in photovoltaic properties with distinct grains, at grain boundaries, and for sub-granular planar defects.


CORROSION ◽  
10.5006/2674 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 1011-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Mahrokh Dorri ◽  
Stéphane Turgeon ◽  
Maxime Cloutier ◽  
Pascale Chevallier ◽  
Diego Mantovani

Localized corrosion constitutes a major concern in medical devices made of stainless steel. The conventional approach to circumvent such a problem is to convert the surface polycrystalline microstructure of the native oxide layer to an amorphous oxide layer, a few micrometers thick. This process cannot, however, be used for devices such as stents that undergo plastic deformation during their implantation, especially those used in vascular surgery for the treatment of cardiac, neurological, and peripheral vessels. This work explores the feasibility of producing a nano-thick plastic-deformation resistant amorphous oxide layer by plasma-based surface modifications. By varying the plasma process parameters, oxide layers with different features were produced and their properties were investigated before and after clinically-relevant plastic deformation. These properties and the related corrosion mechanisms were mainly evaluated using the electrochemical methods of open-circuit potential, cyclic potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Results showed that, under optimal conditions, the resistance to corrosion and to the permeation of ions in a phosphate buffered saline, even after deformation, was significantly enhanced.


Inventions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waleed I. Hameed ◽  
Baha A. Sawadi ◽  
Safa J. Al-Kamil ◽  
Mohammed S. Al-Radhi ◽  
Yasir I. A. Al-Yasir ◽  
...  

Prediction of solar irradiance plays an essential role in many energy systems. The objective of this paper is to present a low-cost solar irradiance meter based on artificial neural networks (ANN). A photovoltaic (PV) mathematical model of 50 watts and 36 cells was used to extract the short-circuit current and the open-circuit voltage of the PV module. The obtained data was used to train the ANN to predict solar irradiance for horizontal surfaces. The strategy was to measure the open-circuit voltage and the short-circuit current of the PV module and then feed it to the ANN as inputs to get the irradiance. The experimental and simulation results showed that the proposed method could be utilized to achieve the value of solar irradiance with acceptable approximation. As a result, this method presents a low-cost instrument that can be used instead of an expensive pyranometer.


2012 ◽  
Vol 476-478 ◽  
pp. 1767-1770
Author(s):  
Yu Li Lin ◽  
Cheng Yi Hsu ◽  
Chang Lun Tai

The task of this study is to prepare the TiO2 film electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) on ITO PET substrate using a general jet-printer. The results were compared with that obtained using ITO glass substrate. In this study, the dispersion of TiO2 slurry was manipulated by changing the pH value of the solution to avoid agglomeration of TiO2 particles. The average TiO2 particles used in this study were measured about 130nm. The experimental results show that it has the best performance when the thickness of the TiO2 film was about 10μm. In ITO glass substrate, the measured short circuit current was about 5.03mA, the open circuit voltage was measured to be 0.65V. In ITO-PET substrate, the measured short circuit current was about 2.73mA, the open circuit voltage was measured to be 0.68V.


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