Download or read book Spectral and Spatial Tuning of Absorption for Enhanced Solar Energy Conversion written by Nicholas P. T. Sergeant and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The search for sustainable energy resources has emerged as one of the most significant and universal concerns society will face in the 21st century. Solar energy conversion offers a cost-effective alternative to our traditional greenhouse gas emitting power plants. The most common solar energy conversion processes are solar photovoltaic conversion and solar photothermal conversion. In the first one, solar photons are converted directly into electrical energy, whereas in the latter solar photons are converted into heat. The heat can then be converted into electrical energy by a steam turbine or a thermophotovoltaic cell. In both types of solar energy conversion it is of outmost importance to optimize the absorption process by maximizing the trapping of solar photons inside the photoactive absorber, while minimizing the potential loss mechanisms, such as thermal emission in photothermal conversion or exciton recombination in photovoltaic conversion. In this dissertation coherent light trapping approaches are explored based on wave optics, thus in the regime where light needs to be treated as a wave phenomenon and can be made to interfere or diffract in order to reinforce the electric field in certain regions (spatial tuning) for a desired frequency range (spectral tuning). Photonic design can help spectrally and spatially tune the electric field distribution and consequently the absorption for a specific conversion process, device or application. In chapter 1 we first introduce the physical quantities that will be used throughout this dissertation in greater depth. This chapter covers the optical properties of materials, the physical quantities describing spectral radiance and the emissivity/absorptivity of blackbody and non-blackbody surfaces, as well as the modeling techniques used in the optimization of nanophotonic designs for enhanced absorption or spectral selectivity. In chapter 2 and chapter 3 we focus on spectrally selective absorbers and photon radiators (emitters) for concentrated solar photothermal and thermophotovoltaic applications, respectively. For both applications, spectral tuning of the absorber surface is important. An ideal solar absorber operating at elevated temperature has high absorptivity over the solar spectrum, while suppressing parasitic IR thermal emission from its surface. In chapter 2, we study the use of aperiodic metal-dielectric coatings both on planar as well as on nanostructured substrates, to achieve the desired spectral selectivity over a wide angular range. Based on our modeled results, our optimized aperiodic multilayer stacks have the potential to outperform current commercially available solar thermal coatings. Using a vacuum emissometer, an apparatus that is able to measure the spectral emission of coatings at elevated temperature, we experimentally demonstrate the excellent spectral selectivity of these aperiodic metal-dielectric solar-selective coatings for concentrated solar thermal applications. In chapter 3, we study the use of aperiodic metal-dielectric coatings as photon radiators to achieve high thermophotovoltaic energy conversion at practical temperatures of operation. In chapter 4 we review light trapping strategies for thin-film solar photovoltaic energy conversion. Thin-film solar photovoltaic devices have an enormous potential to reduce the cost of solar electricity. However, because thin photoactive layers are used, optical absorption is incomplete unless light trapping strategies are employed. Since conventional light trapping approaches, based on geometric scattering, are less effective in thin-film devices, coherent light trapping approaches that exploit the wave nature of light are reviewed that have the potential to significantly enhance optical absorption over a broad spectral range. In chapter 5 and chapter 6 we focus on thin-film organic solar cells, a thin-film technology that has great potential to reduce the cost of solar energy conversion by the use of low-cost photoactive materials and the compatibility with high-throughput roll-to-roll manufacturing. In organic photovoltaic cells, the optical absorption is incomplete unless light trapping strategies are employed. As will be shown, it is important to both spectrally and spatially tune the absorption inside the photoactive region to optimize the exciton creation and to minimize parasitic losses. Multilayer metal-dielectric stacks are investigated to enhance absorption efficiency in organic solar cells without sacrificing charge carrier collection efficiency. We have experimentally shown that these multilayer stacks can at the same time serve as a transparent contact as well as enhance photon harvesting, resulting in improved power conversion efficiency. This will be demonstrated on glass substrates in chapter 5, as well as using a roll-to-roll process on flexible substrates in chapter 6.
Download or read book Metal Organic Frameworks for Chemical Reactions written by Anish Khan and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metal-Organic Frameworks for Chemical Reactions: From Organic Transformations to Energy Applications brings together the latest information on MOFs materials, covering recent technology in the field of manufacturing and design. The book covers different aspects of reactions from energy storage and catalysts, including preparation, design and characterization techniques of MOFs material and applications. This comprehensive resource is ideal for researchers and advanced students studying metal-organic frameworks in academia and industry. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are nanoporous polymers made up of inorganic metal focuses connected by natural ligands. These entities have become a hot area of research because of their exceptional physical and chemical properties that make them useful in di?erent ?elds, including medicine, energy and the environment. Since combination conditions strongly a?ect the properties of these compounds, it is especially important to choose an appropriate synthetic technique that produces a product with homogenous morphology, small size dispersion, and high thermal stability. Covers the synthetic advantages and versatile applications of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) due to their organic-inorganic hybrid nature and unique porous structure Includes energy applications such as batteries, fuel storage, fuel cells, hydrogen evaluation reactions and super capacitors Features information on using MOFs as a replacement to conventional engineering materials because they are lightweight, less costly, environmentally-friendly and sustainable
Download or read book Handbook of Optoelectronic Device Modeling and Simulation written by Joachim Piprek and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-10-12 with total page 887 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a comprehensive survey of fundamental concepts and methods for optoelectronic device modeling and simulation. Gives a broad overview of concepts with concise explanations illustrated by real results. Compares different levels of modeling, from simple analytical models to complex numerical models. Discusses practical methods of model validation. Includes an overview of numerical techniques.
Download or read book Spectra and Energy Levels of Rare Earth Ions in Crystals written by Gerhard Heinrich Dieke and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Optical Materials Technology for Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Conversion written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion written by Gottfried H. Bauer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-04-16 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This concise primer on photovoltaic solar energy conversion invites readers to reflect on the conversion of solar light into energy at the most fundamental level and encourages newcomers to the field to help find meaningful answers on how photovoltaic solar energy conversion can work (better), eventually contributing to its ongoing advancement. The book is based on lectures given to graduate students in the Physics Department at the University of Oldenburg over the last two decades, yet also provides an easy-to-follow introduction for doctoral and postdoctoral students from related disciplines such as the materials sciences and electrical engineering. Inspired by classic textbooks in the field, it reflects the author’s own ideas on how to understand, visualize and eventually teach the microscopic physical mechanisms and effects, while keeping the text as concise as possible so as to introduce interested readers to the field and balancing essential knowledge with open questions.
Download or read book Nanowires written by Anqi Zhang and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-26 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive summary of nanowire research in the past decade, from the nanowire synthesis, characterization, assembly, to the device applications. In particular, the developments of complex/modulated nanowire structures, the assembly of hierarchical nanowire arrays, and the applications in the fields of nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, quantum devices, nano-enabled energy, and nano-bio interfaces, are focused. Moreover, novel nanowire building blocks for the future/emerging nanoscience and nanotechnology are also discussed.Semiconducting nanowires represent one of the most interesting research directions in nanoscience and nanotechnology, with capabilities of realizing structural and functional complexity through rational design and synthesis. The exquisite control of chemical composition, morphology, structure, doping and assembly, as well as incorporation with other materials, offer a variety of nanoscale building blocks with unique properties.
Download or read book Printable Solar Cells written by Nurdan Demirci Sankir and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-04-19 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Printable Solar Cells The book brings together the recent advances, new and cutting edge materials from solution process and manufacturing techniques that are the key to making photovoltaic devices more efficient and inexpensive. Printable Solar Cells provides an overall view of the new and highly promising materials and thin film deposition techniques for printable solar cell applications. The book is organized in four parts. Organic and inorganic hybrid materials and solar cell manufacturing techniques are covered in Part I. Part II is devoted to organic materials and processing technologies like spray coating. This part also demonstrates the key features of the interface engineering for the printable organic solar cells. The main focus of Part III is the perovskite solar cells, which is a new and promising family of the photovoltaic applications. Finally, inorganic materials and solution based thin film formation methods using these materials for printable solar cell application is discussed in Part IV. Audience The book will be of interest to a multidisciplinary group of fields, in industry and academia, including physics, chemistry, materials science, biochemical engineering, optoelectronic information, photovoltaic and renewable energy engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical and manufacturing engineering.
Download or read book Colloidal Quantum Dot Optoelectronics and Photovoltaics written by Gerasimos Konstantatos and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-11-07 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Captures the most up-to-date research in the field, written in an accessible style by the world's leading experts.
Download or read book Trends and Innovations in Energetic Sources Functional Compounds and Biotechnology written by Carlton A. Taft and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 523 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Emerging Nanostructured Materials for Energy and Environmental Science written by Saravanan Rajendran and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-02-07 with total page 565 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides the fundamental aspects of the diverse ranges of nanostructured materials (0D, 1D, 2D and 3D) for energy and environmental applications in a comprehensive manner written by specialists who are at the forefront of research in the field of energy and environmental science. Experimental studies of nanomaterials for aforementioned applications are discussed along with their design, fabrication and their applications, with a specific focus on catalysis, energy storage and conversion systems. This work also emphasizes the challenges of past developments and directions for further research. It also looks at details pertaining to the current ground – breaking of nanotechnology and future perspectives with a multidisciplinary approach to energy and environmental science and informs readers about an efficient utilization of nanomaterials to deliver solutions for the public.
Download or read book Solar to Chemical Energy Conversion written by Masakazu Sugiyama and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-01-25 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy and its storage. It covers the basic background; interface modeling at the reacting surface; energy conversion with chemical, electrochemical and photoelectrochemical approaches and energy conversion using applied photosynthesis. The important concepts for converting solar to chemical energy are based on an understanding of the reactions’ equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions. Since the energy conversion is essentially the transfer of free energy, the process are explained in the context of thermodynamics.
Download or read book Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 702 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Solar Cell Device Physics written by Stephen J. Fonash and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2012-12-02 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar Cell Device Physics offers a balanced, in-depth qualitative and quantitative treatment of the physical principles and operating characteristics of solar cell devices. Topics covered include photovoltaic energy conversion and solar cell materials and structures, along with homojunction solar cells. Semiconductor-semiconductor heterojunction cells and surface-barrier solar cells are also discussed. This book consists of six chapters and begins by introducing the reader to the basic physical principles and materials properties that are the foundations of photovoltaic energy conversion, with emphasis on various photovoltaic devices capable of efficiently converting solar energy into usable electrical energy. The electronic and optical properties of crystalline, polycrystalline, and amorphous materials with both organic and inorganic materials are considered, together with the manner in which these properties change from one material class to another and the implications of such changes for photovoltaics. Generation, recombination, and bulk transport are also discussed. The two mechanisms of photocarrier collection in solar cells, drift and diffusion, are then compared. The remaining chapters focus on specific solar cell device classes defined in terms of the interface structure employed: homojunctions, semiconductor-semiconductor heterojunctions, and surface-barrier devices. This monograph is appropriate for use as a textbook for graduate students in engineering and the sciences and for seniors in electrical engineering and applied physics, as well as a reference book for those actively involved in solar cell research and development.
Download or read book Advances in Microfluidics and Nanofluids written by S. M. Sohel Murshed and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2021-07-07 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microfluidics and nanofluids are rapidly growing technologies of tremendous potential and benefits. This book features a spectrum of topics on these emerging technologies that include microfluidic applications, mass production of chips, flow sensing approaches, fabrication of microfluidic channels using the micromilling process, application of micromixers for wastewater treatment and life cycle assessment, solar thermal conversion of plasmonic nanofluids, and liquid cooling, as well as carbon capture utilization and storage using nanocomposite and nanofluids. The book is intended to provide useful information and guidance to a wide variety of people including students, researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who are involved or interested in these technologies.
Download or read book Best Practices Handbook for the Collection and Use of Solar Resource Data for Solar Energy Applications written by M. Sengupta and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Solar Panel Processing written by Robert N. Castellano and published by Archives contemporaines. This book was released on 2010 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar Panel Processing discusses solar cell technology including theory of operation, efficiency, materials, research on silicon processing, thin-film processing, polymer processing, nanoparticle processing, and transparent conductors. The hand book presents detailed descriptions of thin film processing of amorphous silicon, CdTe, CIGS, and GaAs panels. The handbook details Key Growth Drivers us solar panel usage, Challenges Facing The Solar Power Industry , Cost Of A Photovoltaic System, and Operating Metrics 0f A Photovoltaic Systems Increasing focus on the demand for energy led to conduct this study, which determines the current status of thin films used in various kinds of energy. Our goal was to assess the value of thin films used in the fabrication of six energy technologies for 2007, project 2008 demand, and then forecast thin film demand growth to 2013. This study focuses on the merits of thin films and main key objective was to present a comprehensive analysis of the current market for thin films and its future direction. Global demand for traditional fossil fuels has risen at an unprecedented rate over the lest several years. The economics of supply and demand have driven prices of oil, gas, and coal to record levels. In addition, fossil fuels are considered a source of pollution that aids climate change. Nations have responded by instituting reductions in activities that require the use of fossil fuels and by searching for alternative energy methods. This handbook examines traditional crystalline and thin film photovoltaic fabrication and operation. Thin films are often applied to reduce the cost of product fabrication, improve performance, and provide more flexibility in product design. In addition, they are environmentally benign. The Solar Panel Processing Handbook study of thin films in energy presents current and emerging technologies for various types of solar cells, detaisl the industry structure of each segment, discusses the competitive environment of each type of energy, and reviews current and future applications for thin films. Handbook study will be of interest to those who make solar cells, semiconductors and their manufacturing equipment, thin films, materials, chemicals and gases.
