Download or read book Development of CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells on Flexible Foil Substrates written by Deidra Ranel Hodges and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABSTRACT: Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a leading thin film photovoltaic (PV) material due to its near ideal band gap of 1.45 eV, its high optical absorption coefficient and availability of various device fabrication methods. Superstrate CdTe solar cells fabricated on glass have to-date exhibited efficiencies of 16.5%. Work on substrate devices has been limited due to difficulties associated with the formation of an ohmic back contact with CdTe. The most promising approach used to-date is based on the use of an interlayer between the CdTe and a metal electrode, an approach that is believed to yield a pseudo-ohmic contact. This research investigates the use of ZnTe and Sb2Te3 as the interlayer, in the development of efficient back contacts. Excellent adhesion and minimum stress are also required of a CdTe thin film solar cell device on a flexible stainless steel (SS) foil substrate. Foil substrate curvature, flaking, delamination and adhesion as a result of compressive strain due to the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the flexible SS foil substrate and the solar cell films have been studied. A potential problem with the use of a SS foil as the substrate is the diffusion of iron (Fe), chromium (Cr) and other elemental impurities into the layers of the solar cell device structure during high temperature processing. A diffusion barrier limiting the out diffusion of these substrate elements is being investigated in this study. Silicon nitride (Si3N4) films deposited on SS foils are being investigated as the barrier layer, to reduce or inhibit the diffusion of substrate impurities into the solar cell. Thin film CdTe solar cells have been fabricated and characterized by AFM, XRD, SEM, ASTM D3359-08 tape test, current-voltage (I-V) and spectral measurements. My individual contributions to this work include the Molybdenum (Mo) development, the adhesion studies, the silicon nitride (Si3N4) barrier studies, and EDS and SEM lines measurements and analysis of substrate out-diffused impurities. The rest of my colleagues focused on the development of CdTe, CdS, ZnTe, the CdCl2 heat treatment, and other back contact interlayer materials.
Download or read book Solar Cells and Modules written by Arvind Shah and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-07-16 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gives a comprehensive introduction to the field of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and modules. In thirteen chapters, it addresses a wide range of topics including the spectrum of light received by PV devices, the basic functioning of a solar cell, and the physical factors limiting the efficiency of solar cells. It places particular emphasis on crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, which constitute today more than 90 % of all modules sold worldwide. Describing in great detail both the manufacturing process and resulting module performance, the book also touches on the newest developments in this sector, such as Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCON) and heterojunction modules, while dedicating a major chapter to general questions of module design and fabrication. Overall, it presents the essential theoretical and practical concepts of PV solar cells and modules in an easy-to-understand manner and discusses current challenges facing the global research and development community.
Download or read book CdTe CdS Thin Film Solar Cells Fabricated on Flexible Substrates written by Vasilios Palekis and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) is a leading thin film photovoltaic (PV) material due to its near ideal bandgap of 1.45 eV and its high optical absorption coefficient. The typical CdTe thin film solar cell is of the superstrate configuration where a window layer (CdS), the absorber (CdTe) and a back contact are deposited onto glass coated with a transparent electrode. Substrate CdTe solar cells where the above listed films are deposited in reverse are not common. In this study substrate CdTe solar cells are fabricated on flexible foils. The properties of the Molybdenum back contact, Zinc Telluride (ZnTe) interlayer and CdTe absorber on the flexible foils were studied and characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Substrate curvature and film flaking was observed during the fabrication as a result of differences in thermal expansion coefficients between the substrate and the deposited films, and also due to impurity diffusion from the foil into the film stack. In order to overcome this problem diffusion barriers where used to eliminate contamination. Silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4) and molybdenum nitride (MoxNy) were used as such barriers. Electrical characterization of completed devices was carried out by Current-Voltage (J-V), Capacitance-Voltage (C-V) and Spectral Response (SR) measurements. Roll-over was observed in the first quadrant of J-V curves indicating the existence of a back barrier due to a Schottky back contact. The formation of non-rectifying contact to p-CdTe thin-film is one of the major and critical challenges associated with the fabrication of efficient and stable solar cells. Several materials (ZnTe, Cu, Cu2Te, and Te) were studied as potential candidates for the formation of an effective back contact.
Download or read book Thin Film Solar Cells written by Jef Poortmans and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2006-10-02 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thin-film solar cells are either emerging or about to emerge from the research laboratory to become commercially available devices finding practical various applications. Currently no textbook outlining the basic theoretical background, methods of fabrication and applications currently exist. Thus, this book aims to present for the first time an in-depth overview of this topic covering a broad range of thin-film solar cell technologies including both organic and inorganic materials, presented in a systematic fashion, by the scientific leaders in the respective domains. It covers a broad range of related topics, from physical principles to design, fabrication, characterization, and applications of novel photovoltaic devices.
Download or read book Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells written by Arvind Victor Shah and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2010-08-19 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photovoltaic technology has now developed to the extent that it is close to fulfilling the vision of a "solar-energy world," as devices based on this technology are becoming efficient, low-cost and durable. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of thin-film silicon, a prevalent PV material, in terms of its semiconductor nature, startin
Download or read book Inorganic Flexible Optoelectronics written by Zhenqiang Ma and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-04-29 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprehensively covering inorganic flexible optoelectronics and their applications This highly application-oriented book provides an overview of the vibrant research field of inorganic flexible optoelectronics ? from materials to applications ? covering bulk materials as well as nanowires, thin films, nanomembranes for application in light emitting diodes, photodetectors, phototransistors, and solar cells. Edited and written by world-leading experts in the field, Inorganic Flexible Optoelectronics: Materials and Applications begins by covering flexible inorganic light emitting diodes enabled by new materials and designs, and provides examples of their use in neuroscience research. It then looks at flexible light-emitting diodes based on inorganic semiconductor nanostructures ? from thin films to nanowires. Next, the book examines flexible photodetectors with nanomembranes and nanowires; 2-D material based photodetectors on flexible substrates; and IV group materials based solar cells and their flexible photovoltaic technologies. Following that, it presents readers with a section on thin-film III-V single junction and multijunction solar cells and demonstrates their integration onto heterogeneous substrates. Finally, the book finishes with in-depth coverage of novel materials based flexible solar cells. -A must-have book that provides an unprecedented overview of the state of the art in flexible optoelectronics -Supplies in-depth information for new and already active researchers in the field of optoelectronics -Lays down the undiluted knowledge on inorganic flexible optoelectronics ? from materials to devices -Focuses on materials and devices for high-performance applications such as light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and photodetectors Inorganic Flexible Optoelectronics: Materials and Applications appeals to materials scientists, electronics engineers, electrical engineers, inorganic chemists, and solid state physicists.
Download or read book CdTe and Related Compounds Physics Defects Hetero and Nano structures Crystal Growth Surfaces and Applications written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2009-11-11 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost thirty years after the remarkable monograph of K. Zanio and the numerous conferences and articles dedicated since that time to CdTe and CdZnTe, after all the significant progresses in that field and the increasing interest in these materials for several extremely attractive industrial applications, such as nuclear detectors and solar cells, the edition of a new enriched and updated monograph dedicated to these two very topical II-VI semiconductor compounds, covering all their most prominent, modern and fundamental aspects, seemed very relevant and useful. - Detailed coverage of the main topics associated with the very topical II-VI semiconductor compound CdTe and its alloy CZT - Review of the CdTe recent developments - Fundamental background of many topics clearly introduced and exposed
Download or read book Thin Film Solar Cells From Earth Abundant Materials written by Subba Ramaiah Kodigala and published by Newnes. This book was released on 2013-11-14 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fundamental concept of the book is to explain how to make thin film solar cells from the abundant solar energy materials by low cost. The proper and optimized growth conditions are very essential while sandwiching thin films to make solar cell otherwise secondary phases play a role to undermine the working function of solar cells. The book illustrates growth and characterization of Cu2ZnSn(S1-xSex)4 thin film absorbers and their solar cells. The fabrication process of absorber layers by either vacuum or non-vacuum process is readily elaborated in the book, which helps for further development of cells. The characterization analyses such as XPS, XRD, SEM, AFM etc., lead to tailor the physical properties of the absorber layers to fit well for the solar cells. The role of secondary phases such as ZnS, Cu2-xS,SnS etc., which are determined by XPS, XRD or Raman, in the absorber layers is promptly discussed. The optical spectroscopy analysis, which finds band gap, optical constants of the films, is mentioned in the book. The electrical properties of the absorbers deal the influence of substrates, growth temperature, impurities, secondary phases etc. The low temperature I-V and C-V measurements of Cu2ZnSn(S1-xSex)4 thin film solar cells are clearly described. The solar cell parameters such as efficiency, fill factor, series resistance, parallel resistance provide handful information to understand the mechanism of physics of thin film solar cells in the book. The band structure, which supports to adjust interface states at the p-n junction of the solar cells is given. On the other hand the role of window layers with the solar cells is discussed. The simulation of theoretical efficiency of Cu2ZnSn(S1-xSex)4 thin film solar cells explains how much efficiency can be experimentally extracted from the cells. - One of the first books exploring how to conduct research on thin film solar cells, including reducing costs - Detailed instructions on conducting research
Download or read book Low Temperature Grown CdTe Thin Film Solar Cells for the Application on Flexible Substrates written by Julian Christoph Perrenoud and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Energy and Power Technology written by Xin Wei Yu and published by Trans Tech Publications Ltd. This book was released on 2013-09-10 with total page 2144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters CPCI-S (WoS). Energy and environment have become the central theme in several fields of research and in various policy arenas. The collection of selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2013 International Conference on Advances in Energy and Environmental Science (ICAEES 2013), July 30-31, 2013, Guangzhou, China. The 367 papers are grouped as follows: Chapter 1: Development and Utilization of Solar Energy; Chapter 2: Development and Utilization of Biomass Energy; Chapter 3: Development and Utilization of Wind Energy; Chapter 4: Geothermal Energy, Fuel Cell, Energy-saving Technology and Storage Technology; Chapter 5: Power System and Automation; Chapter 6: High Voltage and Insulation Technology; Chapter 7: Power Electronics and Power Drives, Power Equipment; Chapter 8: Smart Grid Technologies and Power System Management; Chapter 9: Energy Chemical Engineering and Energy Materials; Chapter 10: Energy Security, Management and Clean Use; Chapter 11: Architecture, Construction Technology and Energy-saving Technology; Chapter 12: New Energy Vehicles, Electric Vehicles; Chapter 13: Machinery and Equipment for Industrial Manufacture; Chapter 14: Modeling, Computational Technologies and Control in Industry.
Download or read book Design and Development of Nanostructured Thin Films written by Antonella Macagnano and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2020-05-13 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Due to their unique size-dependent physicochemical properties, nanostructured thin films are used in a wide range of applications from smart coating and drug delivery to electrocatalysis and highly-sensitive sensors. Depending on the targeted application and the deposition technique, these materials have been designed and developed by tuning their atomic-molecular 2D- and/or 3D-aggregation, thickness, crystallinity, and porosity, having effects on their optical, mechanical, catalytic, and conductive properties. Several open questions remain about the impact of nanomaterial production and use on environment and health. Many efforts are currently being made not only to prevent nanotechnologies and nanomaterials from contributing to environmental pollution but also to design nanomaterials to support, control, and protect the environment. This Special Issue aims to cover the recent advances in designing nanostructured films focusing on environmental issues related to their fabrication processes (e.g., low power and low cost technologies, the use of environmentally friendly solvents), their precursors (e.g., waste-recycled, bio-based, biodegradable, and natural materials), their applications (e.g., controlled release of chemicals, mimicking of natural processes, and clean energy conversion and storage), and their use in monitoring environment pollution (e.g., sensors optically- or electrically-sensitive to pollutants)
Download or read book Advances in Thin Film Solar Cells written by I. M. Dharmadasa and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2018-09-05 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar energy conversion plays a very important role in the rapid introduction of renewable energy, which is essential to meet future energy demands without further polluting the environment, but current solar panels based on silicon are expensive due to the cost of raw materials and high energy consumption during production. The way forward is to move towards thin-film solar cells using alternative materials and low-cost manufacturing methods. The photovoltaic community is actively researching thin-film solar cells based on amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), and dye-sensitised and organic materials. However, progress has been slow due to a lack of proper understanding of the physics behind these devices. This book concentrates on the latest developments and attempts to improve our understanding of solid-state device physics. The material presented is mainly experimental and based on CdTe thin-film solar cells. The author extends these new findings to CIGS thin-film solar cells and presents a new device design based on graded bandgap multi-layer solar cells. This design has been experimentally tested using the well-researched GaAs/AlGaAs system, and initial devices have shown impressive device parameters. These devices are capable of absorbing all radiation (UV, visible and infra-red) within the solar spectrum and combine "impact ionisation" and "impurity photovoltaic" effects. The improved device understanding presented in this book should impact and guide future photovoltaic device development and low-cost thin-film solar panel manufacture. This new edition features an additional chapter besides exercises and their solutions, which will be useful for academics teaching in this field.
Download or read book McEvoy s Handbook of Photovoltaics written by Soteris Kalogirou and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-08-24 with total page 1341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Practical Handbook of Photovoltaics, Third Edition, is a 'benchmark' publication for those involved in the design, manufacture and use of these devices. This fully revised handbook includes brand new sections on smart grids, net metering and the modeling of photovoltaic systems, as well as fully revised content on developments in photovoltaic applications, the economics of PV manufacturing and updated chapters on solar cell function, raw materials, photovoltaic standards, calibration and testing, all with new examples and case studies. The editor has assembled internationally-respected contributors from industry and academia around the world to make this a truly global reference. It is essential reading for electrical engineers, designers of systems, installers, architects, policymakers and physicists working with photovoltaics. - Presents a cast of international experts from industry and academia to ensure the highest quality information from multiple stakeholder perspectives - Covers all things photovoltaics, from the principles of solar cell function and their raw materials, to the installation and design of full photovoltaic systems - Includes case studies, practical examples, and reports on the latest advances and worldwide applications
Download or read book Factories of the Future written by Tullio Tolio and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-02-14 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.This book presents results relevant in the manufacturing research field, that are mainly aimed at closing the gap between the academic investigation and the industrial application, in collaboration with manufacturing companies. Several hardware and software prototypes represent the key outcome of the scientific contributions that can be grouped into five main areas, representing different perspectives of the factory domain:1) Evolutionary and reconfigurable factories to cope with dynamic production contexts characterized by evolving demand and technologies, products and processes.2) Factories for sustainable production, asking for energy efficiency, low environmental impact products and processes, new de-production logics, sustainable logistics.3) Factories for the People who need new kinds of interactions between production processes, machines, and human beings to offer a more comfortable and stimulating working environment.4) Factories for customized products that will be more and more tailored to the final user’s needs and sold at cost-effective prices.5) High performance factories to yield the due production while minimizing the inefficiencies caused by failures, management problems, maintenance.This books is primarily targeted to academic researchers and industrial practitioners in the manufacturing domain.
Download or read book II IV Compound Semiconductor Photovoltaic Materials written by Robert Birkmire and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-06-05 with total page 600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on materials issues related to Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 and CdTe-based polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaic solar cells and related oxides and chalcogenides. Phase equilibrium and thermochemical kinetic aspects of the absorber layer formation of CdTe and Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 are emphasized and several papers on micro-analytical analysis report on detailed structural properties of thin films. The use of flexible plastic or metal foil substrates as an alternative to glass is addressed in terms of solar-cell performance and limitations imposed by the nature of the substrates. Properties of defects and interfaces in CdTe and CIGSS are highlighted using electrical, optical, and micro-analytical tools. While film properties are correlated to device physics, controversy still exists on the detailed operation of both CdTe and CIGSS devices. Topics include: materials and synthesis; thin films on alternate substrates; defects; growth and junction formation; surfaces and interfaces and film and device characterization.
Download or read book Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Studies of CdS CdTe Thin Films and Photovoltaic Devices written by Michelle Nicole Sestak and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the demand for clean, renewable energy sources increases, the development of high efficiency, low cost photovoltaic devices from thin films becomes increasingly important. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is a promising tool for the characterization and investigation of thin film photovoltaic devices and the component materials from which they are made. This tool can be applied either in-situ and in real-time using high speed multichannel instruments, or ex-situ using slower wavelength-by-wavelength scanning instruments. Spectroscopic ellipsometry is promising for use in thin film photovoltaics because it provides the thicknesses of the individual layers and their optical properties, which in turn provide insights into the light collection required for photocurrent generation. Advanced forms of ellipsometry include (i) ex-situ mapping spectroscopic ellipsometry with a multichannel ellipsometer, which provides information on thickness and optical property non-uniformities over large areas of a coated substrate, and (ii) real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry with similar high speed instrumentation, which provides information on thin film nucleation, coalescence, and growth, as well as changes in the structure of the material over time. Both advanced forms of ellipsometry have been applied in this Dissertation to analyze thin films with applications in photovoltaics. In this Dissertation research, ex-situ mapping ellipsometry has been used to study Au nanoparticle thin films. These films are useful because they can be integrated into solar cells to promote light trapping within the absorber layers, and hence, increase the overall efficiency of the cells. Studying these films with mapping spectroscopic ellipsometry provides a means for determining thickness uniformity over large areas of the sample for scale-up of the deposition processes. The uniformity of other parameters of the Au nanoparticle films such as the plasmon resonance band energy and its broadening are also critical, as these can be optimized to ensure maximum coupling of light into the solar cell absorber layer. In addition, the advanced methods of real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) have been used to characterize a series of CdTe thin films deposited via magnetron sputtering. In this case, analysis of RTSE data provides information on the nucleation, coalescence, and growth of thin films under different deposition conditions. The time evolution of the thicknesses of the nucleating, bulk-like, and surface roughness layers provide an indication of the growth mode, and enable the distinction of initial clustering from initial layer-by-layer growth. The growth mode shows consistent trends with the deposition parameters. In addition, RTSE provides accurate complex dielectric functions of the growing films, since the films are free from oxidation, and surface roughness can be taken into account in the analysis. From the dielectric functions, information on the void fraction, electron mean free path, and stress in these films can be obtained. Also presented in this Dissertation are the results of a study of CdTe solar cells deposited by magnetron sputtering at varying argon pressures and for varying CdCl2 treatment times. These cells were studied through analyses of the current-voltage (J-V) curves and through comparisons of J-V deduced parameters for cells of varying pressures and treatment times. In two independent series of depositions, it was surprising that samples deposited at a specific argon pressure (10 mTorr) performed the best. This optimum pressure separates a regime at low pressures in which the sputtered species experience no collisions upon transit to the substrate, and a regime at high pressures in which the sputtered species experience multiple collisions and are nearly thermalized. Also obtained in this research were quantum efficiency curves for the best performing cells. The measured quantum efficiency for a 10 mTorr sample could be simulated using parameters obtained from ex-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. Assumptions made in this simulation identified the nature of current losses in the solar cells. Finally, this Dissertation presents a study of a new flexible CdTe solar cell configuration fabricated via an advanced substrate transfer process. In this process, the solar cell is deposited on a temporary superstrate of aluminum foil and transferred to a permanent polymer substrate. This process is used since flexible polymers cannot withstand the deposition temperatures used for the fabrication of CdTe solar cells via the industrial processes of vapor transport deposition and close space sublimation. This novel process has been shown previously to be useful for production of a-Si:H solar modules, and this Dissertation research showed for the first time that it may also be useful for CdTe solar cells, even though the process requires further optimization to reach commercializable efficiencies.
Download or read book Handbook of Nanobioelectrochemistry written by Uday Pratap Azad and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-10-01 with total page 955 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook comprehensively reviews different nanomaterials and modern electrochemical approaches used in the point-of-care analysis of biomolecules. It describes the importance, significance, and application of various kinds of smart nanomaterials and their integration with modern electrochemical techniques for the point-of-care diagnosis of biologically important biomolecules. The interaction between bio-systems and nanomaterials have been discussed in this book using advanced electrochemical methods and characterizing techniques. It describes the combination of classical and modern methodologies for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles/nanoclusters and modern electrochemical techniques for the early-stage detection and point-of-care diagnosis of cancer and other infectious disease such as SARS, influenza, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis. Finally, the book provides an accessible and readable summary of the use of nanomaterial for understanding the electrochemical reaction taking place at nano-bio interfaces in electrochemical biomolecular detection and analysis. The book bridges the gap and strengthens the relationship between electrochemists, material scientists, and biomolecular scientists who are directly or indirectly associated with the field of such point-of-care diagnostics.
