Cost Effective Fabrication of Wafer Scale Nanoholes for Solar Cells Application

2011 ◽  
Vol 1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Q Zhao ◽  
K K Leung ◽  
C Surya ◽  
C K Feng ◽  
Y F Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Silver Film ◽  
Electrochemical Etching ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Nanometer Scale ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
Annealing Conditions ◽  
Metal Catalyzed ◽  
Film Annealing ◽  
Si Wafer

ABSTRACTWe report fabrication of random nanometer-scale radial p-n junction solar cells (SCs). Nanoholes were fabricated on the Si wafer by combining silver film annealing and metal catalyzed electrochemical etching (MECC) of the material. The dimension of the holes can be adjusted by varying the annealing conditions and the thickness of the Ag film. Systematic investigations on the effects of the nanohole size and the doping conditions on the cell efficiency were performed.

scholarly journals Nanotechnology for Photovoltaic Cells and Energy Efficiency

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Santina Di Salvo
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Photovoltaic Cells ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Nanometer Scale ◽  
Manufacturing Costs ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
New Research ◽  
Photovoltaic Technologies ◽  
Research Facilities

Abstract. The intent of this paper is to connect science and technology in order to demonstrate how, in the field of on photovoltaic technologies, thin film solar cells have been the focus of many research facilities in recent years that are working to decrease manufacturing costs and increase cell efficiency. New research suggests that it might be possible to add a nanoscopic relief pattern to the surface of solar cells that makes them non-reflective significantly boosting efficiency and at the same time making them highly non-stick and self-cleaning. The paper presents the challenges and approaches to engineer the active layer of the cell, in order to obtain cells made up of components assembled with precision on the nanometer scale and with such properties as to increase the yield of conversion of solar radiation into electricity.

Fabrication and performance of highly textured electrodeposited ZnO back reflector for nc-Si solar cells

2008 ◽  
Vol 1123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh Attygalle ◽  
Qi Hua Fan ◽  
Shibin Zhang ◽  
William B. Ingler ◽  
Xianbo Liao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Short Circuit Current Density ◽  
Solar Cell Efficiency ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
Back Reflectors ◽  
Sputter Deposited ◽  
And Performance

AbstractTo improve the cell efficiency of thin film solar cells textured back reflectors (BR) are widely used. This is particularly important in a-Si:H based solar cells due to low absorption coefficient at longer wavelengths. In this work we present a cost effective way to fabricate uniformly textured ZnO by using electrochemical methods. Further it was observed that Quantum Efficiency (QE) of shorter wavelengths also improved for highly textured ZnO BR. Together this resulted in more than 2mA increment in short circuit current density (Jsc) and 19% relative improvement in solar cell efficiency over sputter deposited BR. A possible mechanism responsible for the improved blue QE is also discussed.

Lock-in Thermography-Based Local Efficiency Analysis of Solar Cells

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otwin Breitenstein
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Efficiency Analysis ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Local Defect ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Local Efficiency ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
Lock In ◽  
Efficiency Data

Abstract The electronic properties of solar cells, particularly multicrystalline silicon-based ones, are distributed spatially inhomogeneous, where regions of poor quality may degrade the performance of the whole cell. These inhomogeneities mostly affect the dark current-voltage (I-V) characteristic, which decisively affects the efficiency. Since the grid distributes the local voltage homogeneously across the cell and leads to lateral balancing currents, local light beam-induced current methods alone cannot be used to image local cell efficiency parameters. Lock-in thermography (LIT) is the method of choice for imaging inhomogeneities of the dark I-V characteristic. This contribution introduces a novel method for evaluating a number of LIT images taken at different applied biases. By pixel-wise fitting the data to a two diode model and taking into account local series resistance and short circuit current density data, realistically simulated images of the other cell efficiency parameters (open circuit voltage, fill factor, and efficiency) are obtained. Moreover, simulated local and global dark and illuminated I-V characteristics are obtained, also for various illumination intensities. These local efficiency data are expectation values, which would hold if a homogeneous solar cell had the properties of the selected region of the inhomogeneous cell. Alternatively, also local efficiency data holding for the cell working at its own maximum power point may be generated. The amount of degradation of different cell efficiency parameters in some local defect positions is an indication how dangerous these defects are for degrading this parameter of the whole cell. The method allows to virtually 'cut out' certain defects for checking their influence on the global characteristics. Thus, by applying this method, a detailed local efficiency analysis of locally inhomogeneous solar cells is possible. It can be reliably predicted how a cell would improve if certain defects could be avoided. This method is implemented in a software code, which is available.

scholarly journals Fabrication of a liquid cell for in situ transmission electron microscopy

Microscopy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoguang Li ◽  
Kazutaka Mitsuishi ◽  
Masaki Takeguchi
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Production Method ◽  
Microscopy Imaging ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
In Situ Electron Microscopy ◽  
Liquid Cell ◽  
Si Wafer

Abstract Liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) enables imaging of dynamic processes in liquid with high spatial and temporal resolution. The widely used liquid cell (LC) consists of two stacking microchips with a thin wet sample sandwiched between them. The vertically overlapped electron-transparent membrane windows on the microchips provide passage for the electron beam. However, microchips with imprecise dimensions usually cause poor alignment of the windows and difficulty in acquiring high-quality images. In this study, we developed a new and efficient microchip fabrication process for LCTEM with a large viewing area (180 µm × 40 µm) and evaluated the resultant LC. The new positioning reference marks on the surface of the Si wafer dramatically improve the precision of dicing the wafer, making it possible to accurately align the windows on two stacking microchips. The precise alignment led to a liquid thickness of 125.6 nm close to the edge of the viewing area. The performance of our LC was demonstrated by in situ transmission electron microscopy imaging of the dynamic motions of 2-nm Pt particles. This versatile and cost-effective microchip production method can be used to fabricate other types of microchips for in situ electron microscopy.

scholarly journals CdTe-Based Thin Film Solar Cells: Past, Present and Future

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Alessandro Romeo ◽  
Elisa Artegiani
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Short Circuit Current Density ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Solar Cell Efficiency ◽  
Cell Efficiency

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.

A recent overview on the porphyrin-based π-extended small molecules as donors and acceptors for high-performance organic solar cells

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venkatesh Piradi ◽  
Feng Yan ◽  
Xunjin Zhu ◽  
Wai-Yeung Raymond Wong
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Organic Solar Cells ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Effective Alternative ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cost Effective Alternative ◽  
Silicon Based

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have been considered as a promising cost-effective alternative to silicon-based solar cell counterparts due to their lightweight, mechanical flexibility, and easy fabrication features. Over the past...

Development of n-μc-SiOx:H as cost effective back reflector and its application to thin film amorphous silicon solar cells

Solar Energy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
pp. 591-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Banerjee ◽  
T. Srikanth ◽  
U. Basavaraju ◽  
R.M. Tomy ◽  
M.G. Sreenivasan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Back Reflector

Cost-Effective Absorber Patterning of Perovskite Solar Cells by Nanosecond Laser Processing

Solar RRL ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1700003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bugra Turan ◽  
Arne Huuskonen ◽  
Irina Kühn ◽  
Thomas Kirchartz ◽  
Stefan Haas
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Laser Processing ◽  
Perovskite Solar Cells ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Nanosecond Laser
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document