Impurity photovoltaic effect in silicon solar cell doped with sulphur: A numerical simulation

The impurity photovoltaic effect (IPV) has mostly been studied in various semiconductors such as silicon, silicon carbide and GaAs in order to increase infrared absorption and hence cell efficiency. In this work, sulphur is used as the IPV effect impurity incorporated in silicon solar cells. For our simulation we use the numerical device simulator (SCAPS). We calculate the solar cell performances (short circuit current density J_sc, open circuit voltage V_oc, conversion efficiency η and quantum efficiency QE). We study the influence of light trapping and certain impurity parameters like impurity concentration and position in the gap on the solar cell performances. Simulation results for IPV effect on silicon doped with sulphur show an improvement of the short circuit current and the efficiency for sulphur energy levels located far from the middle of the band gap especially at E_c-E_t=0.18 eV.     

Photovoltaic properties of ZnO photoanode incorporating with CNTs for dye-sensitized solar cell application

Zinc oxide carbon nanotube (ZnO-CNTs) thin films were prepared by a chemical bath deposition (CBD) method and immersed in N719 dye for 24 h. The structure and surface morphology of the samples was captured by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field effect scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) unit, respectively. The photovoltaic properties of ZnO- and ZnO-CNT-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were measured by considering the power conversion efficiency (η), photocurrent density (J _sc), open-circuit voltage (V _oc), and fill factor (FF). The cell's efficiency doped with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) reached 0.65 and 0.28 %, respectively. ZnO-based DSSC generated only η?=?0.003 %. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) unit was employed to investigate the electron transport properties such as effective electron lifetime (τ _eff), effective electron chemical diffusion coefficient (D _eff), and effective electron diffusion length (L _n ). The addition of CNTs has enhanced the photovoltaic properties of the DSSCs and reduced the recombination effect inside the solar cell.     

Porous PVdF-HFP/P123 electrolyte membrane containing flexible quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells produced by the compression method

Flexible quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with porous poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVdF-HFP)/polyethylene oxide-co-polypropylene oxide-co-polyethylene oxide (P123) electrolyte membranes were fabricated and their photocurrent–voltage (I–V) characteristics are studied. Flexible TiO₂ photoelectrodes were prepared using the compression method and porous PVdF-HFP/P123 membranes, by the nonsolvent-induced phase inversion technique. To activate the electrolyte membrane, the membrane was immersed in liquid-state electrolyte. Increased compression pressure improved the interconnection between TiO₂ nanoparticles, enhancing the photovoltaic performances of the flexible liquid-state DSSCs to a maximum of 3.92% efficiency. Meanwhile, the overall pore structure of the PVdF-HFP/P123 membranes was controlled by varying the blend ratio of P123 to PVdF-HFP. Membranes higher in P123 content gave larger pores and pore volume, increasing the electrolyte uptake of the porous membrane, and thus the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte membrane as well. The photovoltaic characteristics of the flexible quasi-solid-state DSSCs containing a porous PVdF-HFP/P123 electrolyte membrane showed a maximum at 50 wt% P123 content, which gave a short-circuit current density (J_sc) value of 7.28 mA/cm², an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.67 V, a fill factor (FF) of 0.61 and an energy conversion efficiency (η) of 2.98%. Furthermore, the device designed in this study showed good durability compared to those based on liquid-state electrolyte.     

On the spectral difference between electroluminescence and photoluminescence of Si nanocrystals: a mechanism study of electroluminescence

A highly dense and uniform layer of Au nanoparticles (NPs) on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) film has been produced by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique toward the production of an improved efficiency photovoltaic device. The advantage of PLD over other techniques is the easy and precise control of the Au NPs size and spatial distribution, without needing of further NP surface functionalization. The efficiency enhancement factor related to Au NPs doping has been evaluated in a solar cell based on poly-(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) diffused bilayer. The short-circuit current density, J _SC, increases by 18 % and the power conversion efficiency by 22 %, respectively, in comparison with an equivalent device without Au NPs. The optical and morphological properties of the Au NPs layer have been selected in order to evaluate the contribution of the surface plasmon resonance as enhancement factor of the solar cell efficiency, in a range size where light scattering is negligible.     

Photovoltaic properties of black silicon microstructured by femtosecond pulsed laser

Prototype devices based on black silicon have been fabricated by microstructuring 250 μm thick multicrystalline n doped silicon wafers using femtosecond pulsed laser in ambient gas of SF₆ to measure its photovoltaic properties. The enhanced optical absorption of black silicon extends across the visible region and all the black silicons prepared in this work exhibit enhanced optical absorption close to 90% from 300 nm to 800 nm. The highest open-circuit voltage (V_oc) and short-circuit current (I_sc) under the illumination of He–Ne continuous laser at 632.8 nm were measured to be 53.3 mV and 0.11 mA, respectively at a maximum power conversion efficiency of 1.44%. Upon excitation with He–Ne continuous laser at 632.8 nm, external quantum efficiency (EQE) of black silicon as high as 112.9% has also been observed. Development of black silicon for photovoltaic purposes could open up a new perspective in achieving high efficient silicon-based solar cell by means of the enhanced optical absorption in the visible region. The current–voltage characteristic and photo responsivity of these prototype devices fabricated with microstructured silicon were also investigated.     

Improvement of ZnO nanorod-based dye-sensitized solar cell efficiency by Al-doping

The current study investigates the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on Al-doped and undoped ZnO nanorod arrays synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. Current density-voltage (J-V) characterizations indicate that Al-doping in ZnO crystal structure can significantly improve current densities and the energy conversion efficiency (η) of ZnO nanorod-based DSSCs. The maximum η, 1.34%, was achieved in DSSC when Al-doped ZnO nanorod arrays were grown in 0.04 M zinc acetate dihydrate solution with 5 mM aluminum nitrate nonahydrate. This result represents a large increase of η in Al-doped ZnO nanorod-based DSSCs as compared to undoped (0.05%). The improved DSSC photovoltaic performance can be attributed to two main factors: (1) increased light harvesting efficiency due to a large amount of N719 adsorbed on the large surface area of Al-doped ZnO nanorod arrays, and (2) increased electrical conductivity due to A1³⁺ ion doped into the ZnO lattice at the divalent Zn²⁺ site, allowing electrons to move easily into the Al-doped ZnO conduction band.     

Epitaxial Cu(In,Ga)S2 thin film solar cells

Epitaxial layers of the quaternary compound Cu(In,Ga)S₂ and the ternary compound CuInS₂ were grown on Si(111) substrates via Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The layers were investigated for their morphological and structural properties using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, reflection high-energy electron diffraction and X-Ray diffraction. Furthermore, complete solar cell devices were processed from these layers and their photovoltaic properties were investigated by means of I(U)-curves under illumination. Thus, efficiencies up to η=3.2% were achieved. The comparatively low performance of the solar cell devices is attributed to certain heterogeneities of the samples as a result of the growth process.     

Fabrication and characterization of nanocrystalline n-CdO/p-Si as a solar cell

A nanocrystalline CdO/Si solar cell was fabricated via deposition of a CdO thin film on p-type silicon substrate with approximately 370 nm thickness using solid–vapor deposition for Cd powder at 1274 K with argon and oxygen flow. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the product was a Cadmium oxide nanocrystalline. X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray analysis were used to characterize the structural properties of the solar cell. The nanocrystalline thin film had a grain size of 38 nm. The solar cell yielded a minimum effective reflectance that exhibited excellent light-trapping at wavelengths ranging from 400 to 1000 nm. Photoluminescence spectroscopy was conducted to investigate the optical properties. The direct band gap energy of the nanocrystalline CdO thin film was 2.46 eV. CdO/Si solar cell photovoltaic properties were examined under 100 mW/cm² solar radiation. The cell showed an open circuit voltage (V_oc) of 457 mV, a short-circuit current density (J_sc) of 18.5 mA/cm², a fill factor (FF) of 0.652, and a conversion efficiency (η) of 5.51%.     

Power loss mechanisms in small area monolithic-interconnected photovoltaic modules

Power loss mechanisms in small area monolithic-interconnected photovoltaic modules (MIM) are described and evaluated. Optical and electrical losses are quantified and individual loss components are derived for loss mechanisms of small area radial (radius?=?1?mm) pie-shaped six-segment GaAs MIM laser power converter. At low monochromatic homogeneous illumination (G_low?=?1.8?W/cm², λ₀?=?809?nm) conversion efficiency of the cell, designed for a low irradiance, is reduced by 3.7%_abs. due to isolation trench optical losses and by 7.0%_abs. due to electrical losses (mainly perimeter recombination). Electrical losses in a device designed for a high irradiance, result in 18%_abs. decrease of output power under homogeneous monochromatic illumination (G_high?=?83.1?W/cm², λ₀?=?809?nm), while 11.6%_abs. losses are attributed to optical reasons. Regardless the irradiance level, optical losses further increase if the device is illuminated with a Gaussian instead of an ideal flattop beam profile. In this case, beam spillage losses occur and losses due to isolation trenches and reflections from metallization are elevated. On top of that, additional current mismatch losses occur, if individual MIM’s segments are not equally illuminated. For the studied device, a 29?μm off center misalignment of a Gaussian shaped beam (with 1% spillage) reduces the short circuit current I_sc by 10%_abs. due to the current mismatch between segments.     

Fabrication and characterization of C60/tetrathiafulvalene solar cells

Fabrication and characterization of C₆₀/tetrathiafulvalene solar cells was carried out. Photovoltaic properties of bulk-hetero and heterojunciotn solar cells were investigated by light-induced current vs. voltage curves and optical absorption. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image, X-ray and electron diffraction showed that the bulk-heterojunction film had the microstructure of C₆₀ crystal structure with TTF phase. Heat treatment of the heterojunction film with tetraethylsilane improved the photovoltaic performance, yielding a slight increase of conversion efficiency. This result would be originated in improvement of microstructure around inner interface between the both crystal phases. Mechanisms of the photovoltaic properties were discussed on the basis of the experimental results.     

Synthesis of cauliflower-like ZnO-TiO2 composite porous film and photoelectrical properties

A series of cauliflower-like TiO₂-ZnO composite porous films with various molar ratios of Zn/Ti were prepared by the screen printing technique on the fluorine-doped SnO₂ (FTO) conducting glasses. The composite films were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and UV-vis transmittance spectrum. The results showed composite film electrode had a novel cauliflower-like morphology, which could effectively increase the dye absorption. The corresponding dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) were made by the composite film, and effects of ZnO incorporation on the photovoltaic performances of the DSCs were studied. With the Zn/Ti molar ratio not more than 3% in ZnO-TiO₂ composite film of about 5 μm-thickness, the photocurrent density (J_sc) and the solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency (η) were greatly improved compared with those of the DSC based on bare TiO₂ film of same thickness. This increases in efficiency and J_sc were attributed to high electron conductivity of ZnO, the improved dye adsorption and large light transmittance of composite film.     

Impact of average photon-energy coefficient of solar spectrum on the short circuit current of photovoltaic modules

The output energy of photovoltaic (PV) modules is influenced by the spectral irradiance distribution of the solar spectrum under outdoor conditions. To rate the precise output energy of PV modules, the correction of short circuit current (I_SC) based on actual environmental conditions is needed, because I_SC significantly depends on the shape of the spectral irradiance distribution. The average photon energy (APE) is a zero-dimensional index for spectral irradiance distribution, and APE value uniquely describes the shape of a solar spectrum. Thus, APE has an impact on I_SC of PV modules. In this contribution, the relationship between APE coefficient and I_SC of the multi-crystalline silicon, single-crystalline silicon, heterojunction intrinsic thin-layer, back contact, copper indium selenide and cadmium telluride PV modules has explored. It is revealed that APE value changes the I_SC of PV modules which appeared to have immense possibilities of I_SC correction using APE coefficient. This new approach can be very effective for precise rating the output energy of PV modules under actual outdoor conditions.     

Theoretical and experimental studies on laser-induced transient gratings in laser dyes

Laser-induced transient grating technique has been used to measure the diffraction efficiency (η) and calculate the third-order nonlinear susceptibility (χ⁽³⁾) of some laser dyes. Theoretical simulations have been carried out on η and χ⁽³⁾ as a function of wavelength covering the spectral range corresponding to the first excited singlet state of the dyes. Theoretically simulated values have been found in agreement to those observed experimentally. The decay profiles for these dyes have been measured by using diffraction of a delayed probe laser pulse to estimate the relaxation times in the excited state.     

Optical emission studies of sulphur plasma using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

We present the optical emission studies of sulphur (S) plasma generated by the first (1064 nm) and second (532 nm) wavelengths of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The target material was placed in front of laser beam in air at atmospheric pressure. The experimentally observed line profiles of neutral sulphur have been used to extract the electron temperature (T _e ) using the Boltzmann plot method, whereas the electron number density (N _e ) has been determined from the Stark broadening. The electron temperature is calculated by varying, distance from, the target surface along the line of propagation of plasma plume and also by varying the laser irradiance. Beside we have studied the variation of number density as a function of laser irradiance as well as its variation with distance from the target surface. It is observed that electron temperature and electron number density increases as laser irradiance is increased.     

Complexity and synchronization in chaotic fiber-optic systems

In this work we investigate experimentally the complexity of chaotic attractors generated by a semiconductor laser subjected to optical feedback and associate their dimensionality with the synchronization efficiency of the corresponding chaotic transmitter-receiver configuration. The complexity is characterized by calculating the correlation dimension D₂ of experimental chaotic time series for different values of the optical feedback η. We present the effect of D₂ on the synchronization efficiency and determine the optimal operating condition that leads to the most complex chaotic carrier and, simultaneously, to the most successful synchronization. Lastly, we associate and explain our experimental results with theoretical predictions in the research literature.     

Spectral-splitting concentrator photovoltaic modules based on AlGaAs/GaAs/GaSb and GaInP/InGaAs(P) solar cells

A concentrator photovoltaic module with sunlight spectral splitting by Fresnel lens and dichroic filters is developed. The photoelectric conversion efficiency of such a module is estimated at a level of 49.4% when three single-junction cells are used and may reach 48.5–50.6% when a tandem two-junction cell is combined with narrow-band cells. Single-junction AlGaAs, GaAs, GaSb, and InGa(P)As solar sells are fabricated by zinc diffusion from the vapor phase into an n-type epitaxial layer. GaInP/GaAs cascade solar cells are prepared by MOS hydride epitaxy. The overall efficiency of the three single-junction solar cells developed for the spectral-splitting module is 38.1% (AM1.5D) at concentration ratio K _c = 200x. The combination of the solar cells with the cascade structure demonstrates an efficiency of 37.9% at concentrations of 400–800 suns. The parameters of the spectral-splitting photovoltaic module are measured. The photovoltaic efficiency of this module reaches 24.7% in the case of three single-junction cells and 27.9% when the two-junction and single-junction cells are combined.     

Discrimination between thermal quenching of the fluorescence and Auger upconversion processes using thermal lens technique

In this work we used the Thermal Lens (TL) technique to discriminate two important processes responsible to reduce the upper-state population and fluorescence quantum efficiency (η) in Cr³⁺ doped colquiriite crystals: the thermal quenching of the fluorescence (TQF) and the Auger upconversion (ETU). We observed a nonlinear increase of the TL signal with laser power due to the decrease of η by ETU and/or TQF. The analysis of these curves allowed the determination of the thermal load, the increase of the crystal temperature as a function of the pump excitation and the discrimination between ETU and TQF processes.     

Influence of shunt conduction on determining the dominant recombination processes in CIGS thin-film solar cells

We investigated the transport and photovoltaic properties of Cu(In_1-xGa_x)Se₂ (CIGS) thin-film solar cells. The shunt-current-eliminated diode current could be obtained from the current–voltage characteristics by subtracting the parasitic shunt leakage current from the total current. The temperature dependence of the open-circuit voltage, extracted from the shunt-eliminated (total) current, suggested that the recombination activation energy is comparable to (much less than) the CIGS bandgap. The low-temperature characteristics of the diode ideality factor supported bulk-dominated recombination in the same cell. This suggests that shunt-current subtraction can provide the proper diode parameters of CIGS solar cells.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of hierarchical WO3 nanostructures for dye-sensitized solar cells

Hierarchical architectures consisting of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures are of great interest for potential use in energy and environmental applications in recent years. In this work, hierarchical tungsten oxide (WO₃) has been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route from ammonium metatungstate hydrate and implemented as photoelectrode for dye-sensitized solar cells. The urchin-like WO₃ micro-patterns are constructed by self-organized nanoscale length 1D building blocks, which are single crystalline in nature, grown along (001) direction and confirm an orthorhombic crystal phase. The obtained powders were investigated by XRD, SEM, TEM and UV–Vis Spectroscopy. The photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on WO₃ photoanodes was investigated. With increasing the calcination temperature of the prepared nanopowders, the light-electricity conversion efficiency (η) was increased. The results were attributed to increase the crystallinity of the particles and ease of electron movement. The DSSC based on hierarchical WO₃ showed a short-circuit current, an open-circuit voltage, a fill factor, and a conversion efficiency of 4.241 mA/cm², 0.656 V, 66.74, and 1.85 %, respectively.