The effect of crystal defects on the performance of gaas solar cells

The nature and the effect of crystal defects on the performance of GaAs/GaAlAs solar cells fabricated by MOCVD production reactors have been evaluated. Intrinsic threading dislocations from the GaAs substrates propagate through the junction and are believed to act as recombination centers reducing both the short circuit current density and the open circuit voltage of the device. These defects, at a concentration level exceeding 2 × 10⁴ cm⁻², detrimentally affect the electrical performance of the solar cells.     

Comparative analysis of the outdoor performance of a dye solar cell mini‐panel for building integrated photovoltaics applications

New generation photovoltaic (PV) devices such as polymer and dye sensitized solar cells (DSC) have now reached a more mature stage of development, and among their various applications, building integrated PVs seems to have the most promising future, especially for DSC devices. This new generation technology has attracted an increasing interest because of its low cost due to the use of cheap printable materials and simple manufacturing techniques, easy production, and relatively high efficiency. As for the more consolidated PV technologies, DSCs need to be tested in real operating conditions and their performance compared with other PV technologies to put into evidence the real potential. This work presents the results of a 3 months outdoor monitoring activity performed on a DSC mini‐panel made by the Dyepower Consortium, positioned on a south oriented vertical plane together with a double junction amorphous silicon (a‐Si) device and a multi‐crystalline silicon (m‐Si) device at the ESTER station of the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Good performance of the DSC mini‐panel has been observed for this particular configuration, where the DSC energy production compares favorably with that of a‐Si and m‐Si especially at high solar angles of incidence confirming the suitability of this technology for the integration into building facades. This assumption is confirmed by the energy produced per nominal watt‐peak for the duration of the measurement campaign by the DSC that is 12% higher than that by a‐Si and only 3% lower than that by m‐Si for these operating conditions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantitative evaluation of shunts in solar cells by lock‐in thermography

Infrared lock‐in thermography allows to image shunts very sensitively in all kinds of solar cells and also to measure dark currents flowing in certain regions of the cell quantitatively. After a summary of the physical basis of lock‐in thermography and its practical realization, four types of quantitative measurements are described: local I–V characteristics measured thermally up to a constant factor (LIVT); the quantitative measurement of the current through a local shunt; the evaluation of the influence of shunts on the efficiency of a cell as a function of the illumination intensity; and the mapping of the ideality factor n and the saturation current density J₀ over the whole cell. The investigation of a typical multicrystalline solar cell shows that the shunts are predominantly responsible for deterioration of the low‐light‐level performance of the cell, and that variations of the injection current density related to crystal defects are predominantly determined by variation of J₀ rather than of n. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of humidity and temperature on the potential‐induced degradation

This paper focusses on the physical conditions for a degradation mechanism of photovoltaic modules, known as potential‐induced degradation. The analysis was made on several levels. At first, the influence of humidity and temperature on the potential‐induced leakage current has been investigated, the second step consists of an accelerated test scheme in a climatic chamber and the third one is outdoor exposure with high voltage stress in two different climate regions. The humidity has a huge impact on the leakage current. Therefore, a test in the climate chamber accelerates the stress found in the field of some orders of magnitude. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatially resolved evaluation of power losses in industrial solar cells by illuminated lock‐in thermography

The principles of a recently introduced measurement technique for power losses in solar cells, illuminated lock‐in thermography (ILT), are reviewed. The main advantage of ILT over dark lock‐in Thermography (DLT) is measurement under realistic operational conditions of solar cells. The main focus of this paper is to demonstrate the wide range of applications of ILT in identifying the causes of power losses in solar cells. For this purpose different evaluation methods are presented. A method for the evaluation of improvement potentials within a given cell technology is demonstrated. It is shown that different types of series resistance may be localized. Small areas of recombination losses (e.g., grain boundaries) can routinely be detected, which is not possible in dark lock‐in thermography. Good correspondence with light‐beam‐induced current images is found. A realistic evaluation of the impact of recombination losses on solar cell performance is demonstrated on two examples. Finally, process‐ or treatment‐induced recombination losses are investigated. In summary ILT is shown to be an extremely powerful tool in localizing, identifying and quantifying power losses of solar cells under realistic illumination conditions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of voltage sweep direction on the performance evaluation of P3HT : PCBM solar cells

Investigations on the effect of direction of voltage sweeps, on the current density–voltage (J–V) characteristics in polymer bulk‐heterojunction solar cells, based on the blend of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl [6,6] C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), are reported with time. On the freshly prepared device, the direction of the voltage sweep did not have any effect; however, as the device started degrading, the change in direction of the voltage sweep resulted into different characteristics. Analysis beyond complete degradation, when all the photovoltaic parameters reduced to zero, revealed some interesting results. The J–V characteristics, measured with voltage sweep from −ve to +ve voltage, both in the dark and under illumination, were observed to pass through the second quadrant. On the other hand, with the change in the direction of voltage sweep, viz. from +ve to −ve voltage, the characteristics both in the dark and under illumination passed through the fourth quadrant. These results have been explained on the basis of polarization of the degraded active layer due to applied external voltage. This is an important effect and is observed to depend on the applied voltages during performance evaluation and becomes more prominent with time. This effect puts a question mark on the correctness of the method for calculation of the parameters of a degraded device. Studies on degradation of P3HT : PCBM solar cells showed that both the short circuit current density (J_sc) and the power conversion efficiency (η) decay exponentially, whereas the open circuit voltage (V_oc) decays almost linearly with time. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of wafer thickness on the performance of multicrystalline Si solar cells: an experimental study

The influence of the thickness of silicon solar cells has been investigated using neighbouring multicrystalline silicon wafers with thickness ranging from 150 to 325 μm. For silicon solar cell structures with a high minority‐carrier diffusion length one expects that J_sc would decrease as the wafer becomes thinner due to a shorter optical path length. It was found experimentally that J_sc is nearly independent of the thickness of the solar cell, even when the minority‐carrier diffusion length is about 300 μm. This indicates that the Al rear metallisation acts as a good back surface reflector. A decrease in J_sc is observed only if the wafer thickness becomes less than about 200 μm. The observed trend in V_oc as a function of the wafer thickness has been explained with PC1D modelling by a minority‐carrier diffusion length in the Al‐oped BSF which is small in relation to the thickness of the BSF. This effectively increases the recombination velocity at the rear of the cell. We have shown that the efficiency of solar cells made with standard industrial processing is hardly reduced by reducing the wafer thickness. Solar cell efficiencies might be increased by better rear surface passivation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of different p-dopants in an interconnection unit on the performance of tandem organic solar cells

We report the effect of different p-dopants (ReO₃, MoO₃ and CuI) used in the interconnection unit (ICU) composed of electron-transporting layer (ETL)/metal/p-doped hole-transporting layer (p-HTL) on the performance of tandem organic photovoltaic (TOPV) cells. Dopants with higher charge generation efficiency resulted in higher open circuit voltage (V_OC) due to the reduction of the difference between the Fermi level and the HOMO level of the p-HTL, and higher fill factor (FF) due to the efficient hole transport at the interface between Ag and p-HTL through the tunneling process.     

Bulk passivation of multicrystalline silicon solar cells induced by high‐rate‐deposited (> 1 nm/s) silicon nitride films

Silicon nitride (a‐SiN_x:H) films deposited by the expanding thermal plasma at high rate (> 1 nm/s) have been studied for application as anti‐reflection coatings for multicrystalline silicon (mc‐Si) solar cells. Internal quantum efficiency measurements have revealed that bulk passivation is achieved after a firing‐through process of the a‐SiN_x:H as deposited from NH₃/SiH₄ and N₂/SiH₄ plasmas. However, the a‐SiN_x:H films deposited from N₂/SiH₄ show a lower passivation quality than those deposited from NH₃/SiH₄. This has been attributed to a poorer thermal stability of the films deposited from the N₂/SiH₄ plasma, resulting in structural changes within the film during the firing step. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental and simulation study for impact of different halides on the performance of planar perovskite solar cells

MeA-PbX₃ and MeA-PbI₂X (where MeA=CH₃NH₃; X=I, Br, Cl) systems have been synthesized using grinding processing. Plainly, the crystal structures of the perovskite materials were altered with the variation of the halide ions. Meanwhile, the band gap energy was enhanced from 1.5 eV for MeA-PbI₃ to 2.1 and 2.8 eV for MeA-PbBr₃ and MeA-PbCl₃ as a result of substitution by halide Br and Cl, respectively. The intensity peaks of different perovskite structures were confirmed by photoluminescence (PL). Furthermore, the following energy parameters, heat of formation, high occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and low unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) were evaluated using hyperchem system software. Herein, we performed a device modeling and theoretical study on planar perovskite solar cells without a hole transporting material (HTM) using a solar cell simulation program (wxAMPS) as an update of the popular solar cell simulation tool (AMPS; Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures). Simulation and experimental design of MeA-PbX₃ and MeA-PbI₂X (where MeA=CH₃NH₃; X=I, Br, Cl) systems were investigated. The cells without HTM have been suggested to enhance the low cost and simple assembly of organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite based solar cells. MeA-PbBr₃ with HTM-free solar cells was achieved a high PCE of 13.96% in simulation program compared to 3.88% as experimental one.     

CuIn1−xGaxSe2‐based thin‐film solar cells by the selenization of sequentially evaporated metallic layers

Polycrystalline CuIn_1−xGa_xSe₂ (CIGS) thin films were deposited by the non‐vacuum, near‐atmospheric‐pressure selenization of stacked metallic precursor layers. A study was carried out to investigate the influence of significant factors of the absorber on the solar cells performance. An efficiency enhancement was obtained for Cu/(In+Ga) atomic ratios between 0·93 and 0·95. The slope of the observed energy bandgap grading showed a strong influence on the V_OC and the short circuit current density J_SC. An increase of the Ga content in the active region of the absorber was achieved by the introduction of a thin Ga layer on the Mo back contact. This led to an improvement of efficiency and V_OC. Furthermore, an enhanced carrier collection was detected by quantum efficiency measurements when the absorber layer thickness was slightly decreased. Conversion efficiencies close to 10% have been obtained for these devices. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Demonstration of the monolithic interconnection on CIS solar cells by picosecond laser structuring on 30 by 30 cm2 modules

In this paper, we present the selective structuring of all three patterns (P1, P2 and P3) of a monolithic interconnection of CIS (Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂) thin film solar cells by picosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 1064 nm. We show results for single pulse ablation threshold values and line scribing of molybdenum films on glass (P1), CIS on molybdenum (P2) and zinc oxide on CIS (P3). The purposes of these processes are the p‐type isolation (P1), cell interconnect (P2) and n‐type isolation (P3), which are required for complete cell architecture. The half micron thick molybdenum back electrode can be structured with a process speed of more than 15 m/s at about 15 W average power without detectable residues and damage by direct induced laser ablation from the back side (P1). The CIS layer can be structured selectively down to the molybdenum at process speeds up to 1 m/s at about 15 W average power, due to the precision of direct laser ablation in the ultrashort pulse regime (P2). The ZnO front electrode layer is separated by clean trenches with straight side walls at process speeds of up to 15 m/s at about 10 W average power, as a result of indirect induced laser ablation (P3). A validation of functionality of all processes is demonstrated on CIS solar cell modules (30 × 30 cm²). By replacing one state‐of‐the‐art process by a picosecond laser process at a time, solar efficiencies could be increased for P1 and P2 and stayed on a similar level for P3. After an optimization of the patterning processes in the R&D pilot line of AVANCIS, we achieved a new record efficiency for an all‐laser‐patterned CIS solar module: 14.7% as best value for the aperture area efficiency of a 30 × 30 cm² sized CIS module was reached. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of surface texture on the defect‐induced breakdown behavior of multicrystalline silicon solar cells

The defect‐induced diode breakdown behavior in multicrystalline silicon solar cells, which is located at recombination active crystal defects, is influenced by the surface texturization because the wet chemical treatment selectively etches grain boundaries and dislocations, resulting in etch pits. On textured surfaces, the defect‐induced breakdown voltage is decreased, and the slope of the local reverse I–V characteristics in breakdown is steeper. We find that the local defect‐induced breakdown voltage correlates with the depth of the etch pits. It is suggested that the enhanced electric field in the space charge region at the tip could be superimposed by an electric field around metallic precipitates because of the internal Schottky contact formation with the surrounding silicon. The combined electric field could be responsible for the dependence of the defect‐induced breakdown behavior on the surface texture. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative study of metal–semiconductor contact degradation by current pulses on silicon solar cells with two contact types

This work accomplishes a comparative study of metal–semiconductor contact degradation on two different types of silicon solar cells contacts. One of them was a thermally vacuum-evaporated Ti/Pd/Ag contact, and the other one was a screen-printed contact. An experimental and theoretical methodology was applied in order to study the degradation due to periodic hot/cool switching and knowledge about all fundamental parameters from I–V characteristics of both types of solar cells was obtained. The periodic hot/cool process was carried out by current pulses and the double exponential model of I–V characteristic was used to acquire all fundamental parameters of the solar cells. We found that all fundamental parameters of both types of cells were degraded with the application of current pulses in the time studied, but in any case, the screen-printed contacts were degraded more smoothly than the thermally vacuum-evaporated front contacts of Ti/Pd/Ag.     

聚乙二醇阴极修饰层改善聚合物太阳能电池光电性能的研究

通过将聚乙二醇(PEG)掺入活性层制备聚合物太阳 能电池,利用PEG的迁移特性获得阴极修饰层,研 究PEG阴极修饰层对聚合物太阳能电池光电性能的影响。X射线光电子能谱(XPS)分 析表明,掺入活性层中的 PEG迁移到活性层与Al电极之间,形成了阴极缓冲层。吸收光谱、电流密度-电压 特性曲线和外量子 效率谱的分析表明,PEG阴极缓冲层的形成改善了活性层与阴极的界面接触特性, 降低了活性层与电 极之间的能级势垒,有利于载流子传输,因此显著地改善了聚合物太阳能电池的光电性能, 使得器件的开 路电压Voc、短路电流密度Jsc和填充因子(FF)都有明显提高。当P3HT:PCBM 活性层中掺入体积比为0.5%的PEG时,聚合物太阳能电池的能量转换 效率(P CE)最高,达到了3.07%,比未掺杂PEG的参考器件提 高了38.5%。     

13·9%‐efficient CdTe polycrystalline thin‐film solar cells with an infrared transmission of ∼50%

To fabricate a high‐efficiency polycrystalline thin‐film tandem cell, the most critical work is to make a high‐efficiency top cell ( > 15%) with high bandgap (E_g = 1·5–1·8 eV) and high transmission (T > 70%) in the near‐infrared (NIR) wavelength region. The CdTe cell is one of the candidates for the top cell, because CdTe state‐of‐the‐art single‐junction devices with efficiencies of more than 16% are available, although its bandgap (1·48 eV) is slightly lower for a top cell in a current‐matched dual‐junction device. In this paper, we focus on the development of a: (1) thin, low‐bandgap Cu_xTe transparent back‐contact; and (2) modified CdTe device structure, including three novel materials: cadmium stannate transparent conducting oxide (TCO), ZnSnO_x buffer layer, and nanocrystalline CdS:O window layer developed at NREL, as well as the high‐quality CdTe film, to improve transmission in the NIR region while maintaining high device efficiency. We have achieved an NREL‐confirmed 13·9%‐efficient CdTe transparent solar cell with an infrared transmission of ∼50% and a CdTe/CIS polycrystalline mechanically stacked thin‐film tandem cell with an NREL‐confirmed efficiency of 15·3%. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Initial theoretical study of solar cells with an intermediate band of non‐zero width and a thermalized electron population

A model based on detailed balance principles is developed to study how the thermalized nature of the electrons in the intermediate band (IB) affects the efficiency of intermediate band solar cells. Published work on intermediate band solar cells with finite IB width has focused on the fundamental case when the absorptivity is assumed to be high for all photon energies above the smallest band gap. In this work, an attempt is made to incorporate variations in the absorptivity due to the thermal distribution of the IB electrons. In a wide IB with a thermalized electron population, there will be a low density of electrons close to the upper band edge. The density of unoccupied electron states close to the lower band edge will also be low. As a consequence, the absorption coefficients for photon energies where the only energetically allowed transitions involve exciting electrons from or to, respectively, such states can be expected to be low. The presented model incorporates the effect of the thermalized electron population in an idealized way. In some cases, the calculated efficiency is well above the limit for single band gap cells, whereas in other cases it is not. It is concluded that absorption coefficients rising rapidly from very low values to higher values are advantageous, that overlap between the absorption coefficients can be beneficial when the IB becomes sufficiently wide, and finally, that a case‐by‐case study probably is required to evaluate whether a particular IB material can give cells with high efficiency. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TiO2基染料敏化太阳能电池的表面修饰及性能研究

采用水热法制备TiO₂浆料,用La(NO₃)₃溶 液浸泡TiO₂薄膜获得修饰电极。用X射线光电子能谱(XPS) 和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对修饰电极的主要成分及形貌进行表征的结果显示,电极薄膜分为 上下两层,表 面包覆层粒径较大,为La₂O₃颗粒;下层颗粒粒径较小,为TiO₂颗粒。电流-电压测 试结果显示,与修饰 前相比,用La(NO₃)₃溶液浸泡30min获得的膜电极性能最优,使 开路电压和短路电流分别提高了6.8%和 18.5%。电化学阻抗谱(EIS)测试结果表明,相同偏压下,TiO₂/La ₂O₃电极界面复合电阻比TiO₂要大,说明 La₂O₃包覆层在一定程度上抑制了界面的电子复合,改善了电池的光电化学性能。     

Improvement of the cell performance in the ZnS/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells by the sputter deposition of a bilayer ZnO : Al film

ZnS is a candidate to replace CdS as the buffer layer in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cells for Cd‐free commercial product. However, the resistance of ZnS is too large, and the photoconductivity is too small. Therefore, the thickness of the ZnS should be as thin as possible. However, a CIGS solar cell with a very thin ZnS buffer layer is vulnerable to the sputtering power of the ZnO : Al window layer deposition because of plasma damage. To improve the efficiency of CIGS solar cells with a chemical‐bath‐deposited ZnS buffer layer, the effect of the plasma damage by the sputter deposition of the ZnO : Al window layer should be understood. We have found that the efficiency of a CIGS solar cell consistently decreases with an increase in the sputtering power for the ZnO : Al window layer deposition onto the ZnS buffer layer because of plasma damage. To protect the ZnS/CIGS interface, a bilayer ZnO : Al film was developed. It consists of a 50‐nm‐thick ZnO : Al plasma protection layer deposited at a sputtering power of 50 W and a 100‐nm‐thick ZnO : Al conducting layer deposited at a sputtering power of 200 W. The introduction of a 50‐nm‐thick ZnO : Al layer deposited at 50 W prevented plasma damage by sputtering, resulting in a high open‐circuit voltage, a large fill factor, and shunt resistance. The ZnS/CIGS solar cell with the bilayer ZnO : Al film yielded a cell efficiency of 14.68%. Therefore, the application of bilayer ZnO : Al film to the window layer is suitable for CIGS solar cells with a ZnS buffer layer. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comprehensive study of efficient dye-sensitized solar cells based on the binary ionic liquid electrolyte by modifying with additives and iodine

The photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is enhanced by modifying the binary room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) electrolyte with additives and iodine. The average photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.39% is achieved. Through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry scans and incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) data, the working principles are analyzed. The enhancement is mainly attributed to the improvement of short circuit current which is caused by the reduction of overall internal resistance of the devices. Durability tests are measured at room temperature, and the long-term stability performance can be maintained. This work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.61474064). E-mail:zcliang@njupt.edu.cn