Simulation approach for optimization of ZnO/c-WSe2 heterojunction solar cells

Taking into account defect density in WSe₂, interface recombination between ZnO and WSe₂, we presented a simulation study of ZnO/crystalline WSe₂ heterojunction (HJ) solar cell using wxAMPS simulation software. The optimal conversion efficiency 39.07% for n-ZnO/p-c-WSe₂ HJ solar cell can be realized without considering the impact of defects. High defect density (> 1.0 × 10¹¹ cm^-2) in c-WSe₂ and large trap cross-section (> 1.0 × 10^-10 cm²) have serious impact on solar cell efficiency. A thin p-WSe₂ layer is intentionally inserted between ZnO layer and c-WSe₂ to investigate the effect of the interface recombination. The interface properties are very crucial to the performance of ZnO/c-WSe₂HJ solar cell. The affinity of ZnO value range between 3.7-4.5 eV gives the best conversion efficiency.     

Simulation analysis of the effects of a back surface field on a p-a-Si:H/n-c-Si/n+-a-Si:H heterojunction solar cell

In order to investigate the effects of a back surface field（BSF） on the performance of a p-doped amorphous silicon（p-a-Si：H）/n-doped crystalline silicon（n-c-Si） solar cell,a heterojunction solar cell with a p-a-Si：H/n-c-Si/n^＋-a-Si：H structure was designed.An n^＋-a-Si：H film was deposited on the back of an n-c-Si wafer as the BSF.The photovoltaic performance of p-a-Si：H/n-c-Si/n^＋-a-Si：H solar cells were simulated.It was shown that the BSF of the p-a-Si：H/n-c-Si/n^＋-a-Si：H solar cells could effectively inhibit the decrease of the cell performance caused by interface states.     

Improve on/off ratio of organic heterojunction transistors by adopting single-sandwich configuration

Organic heterojunction transistors (OHJTs) based on 5,5′″-bis(naphtha-2-yl)-2,2′:5″,2′″-quaterthiophene (NaT₄)/copper-hexadecafluoro-phthalocyanine (F₁₆CuPc) heterojunction were fabricated in single-sandwich and sandwich configurations, respectively. All the devices operated in depletion-accumulation (normally-on) mode. High field-effect mobility of 0.35 cm²/Vs was obtained for all devices, which was higher than that, 0.20 cm²/Vs of the devices with NaT₄ as active layer. The on/off ratio of 1 × 10⁵ was obtained for OHJTs with single-sandwich configuration, which is three orders of magnitude higher than that of OHJTs with sandwich configuration. Compared with OHJTs with sandwich configuration, the higher on/off ratio was mainly determined by the lower off state current in OHJTs with single-sandwich configuration. In OHJTs with single-sandwich configuration, the well-type shield effect of the source and drain electrodes caused a very narrow empty region in F₁₆CuPc film, which is responsible for the lower off state current.     

A Simple and Effective Modification of PCBM for Use as an Electron Acceptor in Efficient Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

[6,6]‐phenyl‐C‐61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) are the most widely used acceptor and donor materials, respectively, in polymer solar cells (PSCs). However, the low LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) energy level of PCBM limits the open circuit voltage (V_oc) of the PSCs based on P3HT. Herein a simple, low‐cost and effective approach of modifying PCBM and improving its absorption is reported which can be extended to all fullerene derivatives with an ester structure. In particular, PCBM is hydrolyzed to carboxylic acid and then converted to the corresponding carbonyl chloride. The latter is condensed with 4‐nitro‐4’‐hydroxy‐α‐cyanostilbene to afford the modified fullerene F . It is more soluble than PCBM in common organic solvents due to the increase of the organic moiety. Both solutions and thin films of F show stronger absorption than PCBM in the range of 250–900 nm. The electrochemical properties and electronic energy levels of F and PCBM are measured by cyclic voltammetry. The LUMO energy level of F is 0.25 eV higher than that of PCBM. The PSCs based on P3HT with F as an acceptor shows a higher V_oc of 0.86 V and a short circuit current (J_sc) of 8.5 mA cm^?2, resulting in a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.23%, while the PSC based on P3HT:PCBM shows a PCE of about 2.93% under the same conditions. The results indicate that the modified PCBM, i.e., F , is an excellent acceptor for PSC based on bulk heterojunction active layers. A maximum overall PCE of 5.25% is achieved with the PSC based on the P3HT: F blend deposited from a mixture of solvents (chloroform/acetone) and subsequent thermal annealing at 120 °C.     

Improved square coloring of planar graphs

Square coloring is a variant of graph coloring where vertices within distance two must receive different colors. When considering planar graphs, the most famous conjecture (Wegner, 1977) states that $\frac{3}{2}\mathrm{\Delta }+1$ colors are sufficient to square color every planar graph of maximum degree Δ. This conjecture has been proven asymptotically for graphs with large maximum degree. We consider here planar graphs with small maximum degree and show that $2\mathrm{\Delta }+7$ colors are sufficient, which improves the best known bounds when $6?\mathrm{\Delta }?31$.     

Impact of the Cd2+ treatment on the electrical properties of Cu2ZnSnSe4 and Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells

The present contribution aims at determining the impact of modifying the properties of the absorber/buffer layer interface on the electrical performance of Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ (CZTSe) thin‐film solar cells, by using a Cd²⁺ partial electrolyte (Cd PE) treatment of the absorber before the buffer layer deposition. In this work, CZTSe/CdS solar cells with and without Cd PE treatment were compared with their respective Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGSe)/CdS references. The Cd PE treatment was performed in a chemical bath for 7 min at 70 °C using a basic solution of cadmium acetate. X‐ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements have revealed the presence of Cd at the absorber surface after the treatment. The solar cells were characterized using current density–voltage (J–V), external quantum efficiency, and drive‐level capacitance profiling measurements. For the CZTSe‐based devices, the fill factor increased from 57.7% to 64.0% when using the Cd PE treatment, leading to the improvement of the efficiency (η) from 8.3% to 9.0% for the best solar cells. Similar observations were made on the CIGSe solar cell reference. This effect comes from a considerable reduction of the series resistance (R_S) of the dark and light J–V, as determined using the one‐diode model. The crossover effect between dark and light J–V curves is also significantly reduced by Cd PE treatment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PbSe/TiO2同轴异质结纳米管的制备及光催化性能

通过溶液法合成了PbSe/TiO2复合纳米管,并对其进行了微观形貌、晶体结构等的表征。结果表明,制得的样品是由PbSe和TiO2两种材料构成的复合材料,致密、均匀的TiO2薄膜包覆在PbSe纳米管表面。以氙灯为模拟光源,通过对甲基橙的降解研究了PbSe/TiO2复合纳米管的光催化性能。结果显示,PbSe与TiO2之间形成的异质结使PbSe/TiO2复合纳米管具有较高的光催化性能,比纯PbSe纳米管的催化降解率提高了约4.5倍。另外,对PbSe/TiO2复合纳米管光催化稳定性也进行了研究。     

Extending the response spectrum of organic photodetectors by quaternary active layer method with complementary absorption spectra

In this work, we report a new method for extending the response spectra of organic photodetectors (OPDs) by incorporating PBDT-TT-C and PBDT-TT-F in the P3HT:PC₆₁BM. The effects of PBDT-TT-C and PBDT-TT-F incorporation on the optical and electrical properties of OPDs were investigated, It was found that when the mass ratio of P3HT:PBDT-TT-F:PBDT-TT-C:PC₆₁BM was 12:2:2:8, the response spectrum of the active layer was extended to 780 nm. The responsivity (R) and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the OPDs reached 340, 376, 315 mA/W and 67%, 88%, 85% under 630, 530, and 460 nm illumination and −1 V bias, respectively, and the detectivity (D*) reached 10¹² Jones. The results show that the inclusion of an appropriate amount of donor material with similar chemical structure and complementary absorption spectrum can reduce the influence of the doping material on the micro-morphology of the original film while improving the absorption of the spectrum. The interaction between the donor materials promotes the generation of photogenerated carriers and increases the photocurrent of the OPDs. In addition, the incorporation of the different component promotes crystallization of the film, resulting in a reduction in dark current of the OPDs.