scholarly journals Modeling of High-Efficiency Multi-Junction Polymer and Hybrid Solar Cells to Absorb Infrared Light

Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jobeda Khanam ◽  
Simon Foo

In this paper, we present our work on high-efficiency multi-junction polymer and hybrid solar cells. The transfer matrix method is used for optical modeling of an organic solar cell, which was inspired by the McGehee Group in Stanford University. The software simulation calculates the optimal thicknesses of the active layers to provide the best short circuit current (JSC) value. First, we show three designs of multi-junction polymer solar cells, which can absorb sunlight beyond the 1000 nm wavelengths. Then we present a novel high-efficiency hybrid (organic and inorganic) solar cell, which can absorb the sunlight with a wavelength beyond 2500 nm. Approximately 12% efficiency was obtained for the multi-junction polymer solar cell and 20% efficiency was obtained from every two-, three- and four-junction hybrid solar cell under 1 sun AM1.5 illumination.

Author(s):  
Rohit Kelkar ◽  
Satwik Timmavajjala ◽  
Kunal Mitra ◽  
Clayton Baum

Hybrid solar cells consist of organic as well as inorganic substances. An organic compound absorbs light and transports holes whereas an inorganic compound is an acceptor and transports electrons. Hybrid solar cells were fabricated on glass slides pre-coated with indium tin oxide (ITO) which itself acts as a cathode. Poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene)polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) was coated in order to avoid a short circuit between the layers and also to smooth the surface of ITO. A photoactive layer which consisted of poly(3-hexathiophene) (P3HT), TiO2 and star dispersant was coated over the PEDOT:PSS layer. Gold/molybdenum was sputtered as an anode material. Star dispersant was added to the active layer in order to improve the performance of the solar cell. Introduction of star dispersant increases the interfacial area and in turn the exciton dissociation. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to measure the thicknesses of the individual layers and also to obtain a topographical view of the cell surface to ensure the uniformity of the deposited layers. Absorption and photoluminescence spectra were measured to characterize the solar cell. Finally, current–voltage characteristics were measured to ensure that the solar cell acts as a diode.


2013 ◽  
Vol 448-453 ◽  
pp. 1446-1451
Author(s):  
Yi Tsung Chang ◽  
Jen Hong Su ◽  
Yi Ting Shih ◽  
Yen Lin Shih

A single layer of organic solar cells with the Al/P3HT/PEDOT: PSS/ITO structure on glass substrate was investigated in this paper, and examined the performance of the polymer solar cells by changing 60, 70 and 80 nm thickness of the P3HT active layer. These devices had better absorption in the active layer and poor charges collect in the electrode with increase thickness of active layer were observed. It is found that the best properties that the single layer organic solar cell with open-circuit voltage 0.457 V, short-circuit current 1.05E-4 mA and power conversion efficiency of 3.3E-5% was achieved under illumination 100 mW/cm2 when the thickness of P3HT active layer is about 80 nm.


2014 ◽  
Vol 924 ◽  
pp. 193-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huang Zhong Yu

The degradation of the performance of the polymer solar cell based on the blend structures system of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) is investigated. This study uses UV-vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence (PL) spectra, charge-transport dark J-V curve chart to explicate the reason for the degradation of the performance of P3HT:PCBM photovoltaic cells. Solar cell performance is degraded primarily through loss in short-circuit current density (Jsc) and fill factor (FF), the reduction in the Jsc and FF of the device is most likely to be due to the formation of the charge transfer complex, deep traps and destruction of the-conjugated system in the degraded P3HT:PCBM device. The exposure to oxygen and photo-oxidation lead to the emergence of these factors of the device performance degradation. Keywords: Degradation; Performance; Solar cells; P3HT: PCBM


Nanoscale ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 6871-6883
Author(s):  
Jianming Wang ◽  
Huangzhong Yu ◽  
Chunli Hou

Herein, few-layered β-InSe nanosheets are introduced into the active layers of polymer solar cells as morphological modifiers for the first time. 


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.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 726
Author(s):  
Ray-Hua Horng ◽  
Yu-Cheng Kao ◽  
Apoorva Sood ◽  
Po-Liang Liu ◽  
Wei-Cheng Wang ◽  
...  

In this study, a mechanical stacking technique has been used to bond together the GaInP/GaAs and poly-silicon (Si) solar wafers. A GaInP/GaAs/poly-Si triple-junction solar cell has mechanically stacked using a low-temperature bonding process which involves micro metal In balls on a metal line using a high-optical-transmission spin-coated glue material. Current–voltage measurements of the GaInP/GaAs/poly-Si triple-junction solar cells have carried out at room temperature both in the dark and under 1 sun with 100 mW/cm2 power density using a solar simulator. The GaInP/GaAs/poly-Si triple-junction solar cell has reached an efficiency of 24.5% with an open-circuit voltage of 2.68 V, a short-circuit current density of 12.39 mA/cm2, and a fill-factor of 73.8%. This study demonstrates a great potential for the low-temperature micro-metal-ball mechanical stacking technique to achieve high conversion efficiency for solar cells with three or more junctions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Wang ◽  
Matt P. Page ◽  
Eugene Iwancizko ◽  
Yueqin Xu ◽  
Yanfa Yan ◽  
...  

AbstractWe have achieved an independently-confirmed 17.8% conversion efficiency in a 1-cm2, p-type, float-zone silicon (FZ-Si) based heterojunction solar cell. Both the front emitter and back contact are hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) deposited by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). This is the highest reported efficiency for a HWCVD silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cell. Two main improvements lead to our most recent increases in efficiency: 1) the use of textured Si wafers, and 2) the application of a-Si:H heterojunctions on both sides of the cell. Despite the use of textured c-Si to increase the short-circuit current, we were able to maintain the same 0.65 V open-circuit voltage as on flat c-Si. This is achieved by coating a-Si:H conformally on the c-Si surfaces, including covering the tips of the anisotropically-etched pyramids. A brief atomic H treatment before emitter deposition is not necessary on the textured wafers, though it was helpful in the flat wafers. It is essential to high efficiency SHJ solar cells that the emitter grows abruptly as amorphous silicon, instead of as microcrystalline or epitaxial Si. The contact on each side of the cell comprises a thin (< 5 nm) low substrate temperature (~100°C) intrinsic a-Si:H layer, followed by a doped layer. Our intrinsic layers are deposited at 0.3-1.2 nm/s. The doped emitter and back-contact layers were deposited at a higher temperature (>200°C) and grown from PH3/SiH4/H2 and B2H6/SiH4/H2 doping gas mixtures, respectively. This combination of low (intrinsic) and high (doped layer) growth temperatures was optimized by lifetime and surface recombination velocity measurements. Our rapid efficiency advance suggests that HWCVD may have advantages over plasma-enhanced (PE) CVD in fabrication of high-efficiency heterojunction c-Si cells; there is no need for process optimization to avoid plasma damage to the delicate, high-quality, Si wafers.


2013 ◽  
Vol 665 ◽  
pp. 330-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ripal Parmar ◽  
Dipak Sahay ◽  
R.J. Pathak ◽  
R.K. Shah

The solar cells have been used as most promising device to convert light energy into electrical energy. In this paper authors have attempted to fabricate Photoelectrochemical solar cell with semiconductor electrode using TMDCs. The Photoelectrochemical solar cells are the solar cells which convert the solar energy into electrical energy. The photoelectrochemical cells are clean and inexhaustible sources of energy. The photoelectrochemical solar cells are fabricated using WSe2crystal and electrolyte solution of 0.025M I2, 0.5M NaI, 0.5M Na2SO4. Here the WSe2crystals were grown by direct vapour transport technique. In our investigations the solar cell parameters like short circuit current (Isc) and Open circuit voltage (Voc) were measured and from that Fill factor (F.F.) and photoconversion efficiency (η) are investigated. The results obtained shows that the value of efficiency and fill factor of solar cell varies with the illumination intensities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 821 ◽  
pp. 407-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Orabi Moustafa ◽  
Tariq Alzoubi

The performance of the InGaN single-junction thin film solar cells has been analyzed numerically employing the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D). The electrical properties and the photovoltaic performance of the InGaN solar cells were studied by changing the doping concentrations and the bandgap energy along with each layer, i.e. n-and p-InGaN layers. The results reveal an optimum efficiency of the InGaN solar cell of ~ 15.32 % at a band gap value of 1.32 eV. It has been observed that lowering the doping concentration NA leads to an improvement of the short circuit current density (Jsc) (34 mA/cm2 at NA of 1016 cm−3). This might be attributed to the increase of the carrier mobility and hence an enhancement in the minority carrier diffusion length leading to a better collection efficiency. Additionally, the results show that increasing the front layer thickness of the InGaN leads to an increase in the Jsc and to the conversion efficiency (η). This has been referred to the increase in the photogenerated current, as well as to the less surface recombination rate.


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