Download or read book Application of Localized Surface Plasmons for the Enhancement of This film Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells written by Chanse D.. Hungerford and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Photovoltaics (PV) is a rapidly growing electricity source and new PV technologies are continually being developed. Increasing the efficiency of PV will continue to drive down the costs of solar installations. One area of research that is necessary for increasing PV performance is light management. This is especially true for thin-film devices that are unable to maximize absorption of the solar spectrum in a single pass. Methods for light trapping include texturing, high index nanostructures, nanophotonic structures, and plasmonics. This research focus on the use of plasmonic structures, in this case metallic nanoparticles, to increase the power conversion efficiency of solar cells. Three different designs are investigated. First was an a-Si:H solar cell, approximately 300nm thick, with a rear reflector consisting of metallic nanoparticles and a mirror. This structure is referred to as a plasmonic back reflector. Simulations indicate that a maximum absorption increase of 7.2% in the 500nm to 800nm wavelength range is possible versus a flat reference. Experiments did not show enhancement, likely due to absorption in the transparent conducting oxide and the parasitic absorption in the small metallic nanoparticles. The second design was an a-Si:H solar cell with embedded metal nanoparticles. Experimental devices were successfully fabricated by breaking the i-layer deposition into two steps and introducing colloidal nanoparticles between the two depositions. These devices performed worse than the controls, but the results provide proof that fabrication of such a device is possible and may be improved in the future. Suggestions for improvements are discussed. The final device investigated was an ultra-thin, undoped solar cell. The device used an absorber layer

Download or read book Plasmonics Theory and Applications written by Tigran V. Shahbazyan and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-01-09 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This contributed volume summarizes recent theoretical developments in plasmonics and its applications in physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and medicine. It focuses on recent advances in several major areas of plasmonics including plasmon-enhanced spectroscopies, light scattering, many-body effects, nonlinear optics, and ultrafast dynamics. The theoretical and computational methods used in these investigations include electromagnetic calculations, density functional theory calculations, and nonequilibrium electron dynamics calculations. The book presents a comprehensive overview of these methods as well as their applications to various current problems of interest.

Download or read book Plasmonics for Improved Thin film Photovoltaic Cells and Enhanced Light Extraction from Organic Light emitting Diodes written by Chi-Sheng Chang and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Surface plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles has attracted much attention by creating unique interactions between light and nanoparticles. This special phenomenon can be utilized in optoelectronics applications such as photovoltaics and light emitting diodes, to improve their efficiency. This thesis focuses on the influence of gold and silver nanoparticles on the photoconductivity of amorphous silicon, the efficacy of organic solar cells, and light extraction from organic light-emitting diodes. Enhancement of photovoltaics by integrating cells with gold nanorods is of potential interest to reduce the usage of semiconductor material. Gold nanorods with the ability to control surface plasmon resonance were synthesized and their thermal stability was increased by silica-coating to enable them to withstand standard semiconductor processing. Silica-coated gold nanorods maintain rod-like shape to over 600 °C and they can increase the photoconductivity of thin film amorphous silicon by much more than a factor of 2 across the entire visible spectrum. The enhancement mechanism studies show that absorption enhancement due to strong near-field light concentration is the primary effect rather than pathlength increases due to light scattering. Bulk heterojunction polymeric solar cells have an extremely thin active layer with thickness of 100 ~ 200 nm and can take advantage of plasmonic effects on absorption to improve their efficiencies. Gold nanorods were introduced into model solar cells consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). No obvious improvements in short circuit currents were observed when particles were embedded in the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) anode layer. When blending silica-coated gold nanorods into the active layer, no significant improvements were obtained but the silica shell prevented metal nanorods from quenching excitons and trapping charge carriers so that future improvements using this materials design may yet be possible. The external quantum efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is limited to ~ 20 % because of the refractive index mismatch between multiple layers in the devices. Large silver nanoparticles were synthesized and exhibited strong light scattering through the visible spectrum. These were incorporated into a layer between the indium tin oxide (ITO) anode and the glass substrate to improve light extraction from OLEDs. SiO2, TiO2 and mixed sol-gel films were developed to planarize silver nanoparticles. In spite of our hypothesis that strong scattering by large silver particles could be used to improve light extraction from OLEDs, our best results were to observe ~ 15 % decreases in light output even when the refractive index of the planarization layer was well matched to that of the ITO anode"--Pages v-vi.

Download or read book Intelligent Computing Applications for Sustainable Real World Systems written by Manjaree Pandit and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-04-03 with total page 584 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book delves into various solution paradigms such as artificial neural network, support vector machine, wavelet transforms, evolutionary computing, swarm intelligence. During the last decade, novel solution technologies based on human and species intelligence have gained immense popularity due to their flexible and unconventional approach. New analytical tools are also being developed to handle big data processing and smart decision making. The idea behind compiling this work is to familiarize researchers, academicians, industry persons and students with various applications of intelligent techniques for producing sustainable, cost-effective and robust solutions of frequently encountered complex, real-world problems in engineering and science disciplines. The practical problems in smart grids, communication, waste management, elimination of harmful elements from nature, etc., are identified, and smart and optimal solutions are proposed.

Download or read book Nanostructured Solar Cells written by Narottam Das and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2017-02-22 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nanostructured solar cells are very important in renewable energy sector as well as in environmental aspects, because it is environment friendly. The nano-grating structures (such as triangular or conical shaped) have a gradual change in refractive index which acts as a multilayer antireflective coating that is leading to reduced light reflection losses over broadband ranges of wavelength and angle of incidence. There are different types of losses in solar cells that always reduce the conversion efficiency, but the light reflection loss is the most important factor that decreases the conversion efficiency of solar cells significantly. The antireflective coating is an optical coating which is applied to the surface of lenses or any optical devices to reduce the light reflection losses. This coating assists for the light trapping capturing capacity or improves the efficiency of optical devices, such as lenses or solar cells. Hence, the multilayer antireflective coatings can reduce the light reflection losses and increases the conversion efficiency of nanostructured solar cells.

Download or read book Solar Cells and Light Management written by Francesco Enrichi and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2019-10-29 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar Cells and Light Management: Materials, Strategies and Sustainability provides an extensive review on the latest advances in PV materials, along with light management strategies for better exploiting the solar spectrum. Following a brief review of the current status of solar cells, the book discusses different concepts, principles and technologies for solar devices, starting with standard silicon cells and then covering organic-hybrid, DSSC, perovskite, quantum dots and nanostructured oxide solar cells. Other sections focus on light manipulation and spectral modification, materials for spectral conversion, and environmental and sustainably considerations. An emergy analysis, which is an extension of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, is applied to the study of solar PV systems, thus allowing for effective integrated indicators. - Provides a comprehensive picture of light management strategies - Features the most recent advances in the field, including novel materials and advanced solar cell technologies - Presents a resource that is applicable to both new or experienced researchers in the field - Contains a section on environmental and sustainability issues

Download or read book Photon Management in Solar Cells written by Ralf B. Wehrspohn and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-03-09 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by renowned experts in the field of photon management in solar cells, this one-stop reference gives an introduction to the physics of light management in solar cells, and discusses the different concepts and methods of applying photon management. The authors cover the physics, principles, concepts, technologies, and methods used, explaining how to increase the efficiency of solar cells by splitting or modifying the solar spectrum before they absorb the sunlight. In so doing, they present novel concepts and materials allowing for the cheaper, more flexible manufacture of solar cells and systems. For educational purposes, the authors have split the reasons for photon management into spatial and spectral light management. Bridging the gap between the photonics and the photovoltaics communities, this is an invaluable reference for materials scientists, physicists in industry, experimental physicists, lecturers in physics, Ph.D. students in physics and material sciences, engineers in power technology, applied and surface physicists.

Download or read book NANOSPHERE LITHOGRAPHY AND ITS APPLICATION IN RAPID AND ECONOMIC FABRICATION OF PLASMONIC HYDROGENATED AMORPHOUS SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract : Solar photovoltaic (PV) devices harvest energy from solar radiation and convert it to electricity. PV technologies, as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels, use clean and renewable energy while minimizing pollution. For decades researchers have been developing thin film solar cells as an important alternatives to the relatively expensive bulk crystal solar cell technology. Among those, hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells prevails for good efficiency, non-toxic and materially abundant nature. However, a-Si:H thickness must be minimized to prevent light induced degradation, so optical enhancement is necessary. Light manipulation has to be applied and carefully engineered to trap light within the active layer(s) of the cell using an inexpensive processing techniques. Plasmonic nanostructure allows manipulation of light to be fine-tuned at nanoscale by enabling plasmonic induced scattering, near-field effect and supported surface plasmon plariton (SPP). However traditional fabrication techniques for fabricating nanoscale plasmonic structure are expensive and cumbersome. In this research studies have been conducted to explore the inexpensive fabrication technologies. As a result, nanosphere lithography (NSL) is chosen as a masking material to create scalable plasmonic nanoparticles at low cost. With computer aided design and numerical simulation, the physics behind plasmonic resonance and cell performance is revealed and the geometry and parameters of plasmonic nanostructure are optimized. Finally, a proof-of-concept study has been made to show the effective enhancement in a-Si:H using plasmonic nanostructures fabricate with NSL. The research indicates the feasibility of using the proposed method for commercializing plasmonic a-Si:H solar cells. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant award number CBET-1235750.

Download or read book Advanced Silicon Materials for Photovoltaic Applications written by Sergio Pizzini and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, the silicon feedstock for photovoltaic cells comes from processes which were originally developed for the microelectronic industry. It covers almost 90% of the photovoltaic market, with mass production volume at least one order of magnitude larger than those devoted to microelectronics. However, it is hard to imagine that this kind of feedstock (extremely pure but heavily penalized by its high energy cost) could remain the only source of silicon for a photovoltaic market which is in continuous expansion, and which has a cumulative growth rate in excess of 30% in the last few years. Even though reports suggest that the silicon share will slowly decrease in the next twenty years, finding a way to manufacture a specific solar grade feedstock in large quantities, at a low cost while maintaining the quality needed, still remains a crucial issue. Thin film and quantum confinement-based silicon cells might be a complementary solution. Advanced Silicon Materials for Photovoltaic Applications has been designed to describe the full potentialities of silicon as a multipurpose material and covers: Physical, chemical and structural properties of silicon Production routes including the promise of low cost feedstock for PV applications Defect engineering and the role of impurities and defects Characterization techniques, and advanced analytical techniques for metallic and non-metallic impurities Thin film silicon and thin film solar cells Innovative quantum effects, and 3rd generation solar cells With contributions from internationally recognized authorities, this book gives a comprehensive analysis of the state-of-the-art of process technologies and material properties, essential for anyone interested in the application and development of photovoltaics.

Download or read book High Efficiency Solar Cells written by Xiaodong Wang and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As part of the effort to increase the contribution of solar cells (photovoltaics) to our energy mix, this book addresses three main areas: making existing technology cheaper, promoting advanced technologies based on new architectural designs, and developing new materials to serve as light absorbers. Leading scientists throughout the world create a fundamental platform for knowledge sharing that combines the physics, materials, and device architectures of high-efficiency solar cells. While providing a comprehensive introduction to the field, the book highlights directions for further research, and is intended to stimulate readers’ interest in the development of novel materials and technologies for solar energy applications.

Download or read book Nanostructured Solar Cells written by Guanying Chen and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2018-07-04 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Nanostructured Solar Cells" that was published in Nanomaterials

Download or read book Materials for Sustainable Energy written by Vincent Dusastre and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2011 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The search for cleaner, cheaper, smaller and more efficient energy technologies has to a large extent been motivated by the development of new materials. The aim of this collection of articles is therefore to focus on what materials-based solutions can offer and show how the rationale design and improvement of their physical and chemical properties can lead to energy-production alternatives that have the potential to compete with existing technologies. In terms of alternative means to generate electricity that utilize renewable energy sources, the most dramatic breakthroughs for both mobile (i.e., transportation) and stationary applications are taking place in the fields of solar and fuel cells. And from an energy-storage perspective, exciting developments can be seen emerging from the fields of rechargeable batteries and hydrogen storage.

Download or read book Fundamentals of Solar Cell Design written by Inamuddin and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-08-24 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar cells are semiconductor devices that convert light photons into electricity in photovoltaic energy conversion and can help to overcome the global energy crisis. Solar cells have many applications including remote area power systems, earth-orbiting satellites, wristwatches, water pumping, photodetectors and remote radiotelephones. Solar cell technology is economically feasible for commercial-scale power generation. While commercial solar cells exhibit good performance and stability, still researchers are looking at many ways to improve the performance and cost of solar cells via modulating the fundamental properties of semiconductors. Solar cell technology is the key to a clean energy future. Solar cells directly harvest energy from the sun’s light radiation into electricity are in an ever-growing demand for future global energy production. Solar cell-based energy harvesting has attracted worldwide attention for their notable features, such as cheap renewable technology, scalable, lightweight, flexibility, versatility, no greenhouse gas emission, environment, and economy friendly and operational costs are quite low compared to other forms of power generation. Thus, solar cell technology is at the forefront of renewable energy technologies which are used in telecommunications, power plants, small devices to satellites. Aiming at large-scale implementation can be manipulated by various types used in solar cell design and exploration of new materials towards improving performance and reducing cost. Therefore, in-depth knowledge about solar cell design is fundamental for those who wish to apply this knowledge and understanding in industries and academics. This book provides a comprehensive overview on solar cells and explores the history to evolution and present scenarios of solar cell design, classification, properties, various semiconductor materials, thin films, wafer-scale, transparent solar cells, and so on. It also includes solar cells’ characterization analytical tools, theoretical modeling, practices to enhance conversion efficiencies, applications and patents.

Download or read book Nanotechnology Concepts Methodologies Tools and Applications written by Management Association, Information Resources and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2014-02-28 with total page 1654 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past few decades, devices and technologies have been significantly miniaturized from one generation to the next, providing far more potential in a much smaller package. The smallest of these recently developed tools are miniscule enough to be invisible to the naked eye. Nanotechnology: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications describes some of the latest advances in microscopic technologies in fields as diverse as biochemistry, materials science, medicine, and electronics. Through its investigation of theories, applications, and new developments in the nanotechnology field, this impressive reference source will serve as a valuable tool for researchers, engineers, academics, and students alike.

Download or read book Multifunctional Plasmonic Metasurfaces for Inverted Organic Photovoltaics written by Christopher E. Petoukhoff and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emerging next-generation photovoltaic devices are fabricated from thin-films, with devices having thicknesses of less than 1 um, because of the reduced material waste, lower embodied energy, and propensity for forming flexible, light-weight devices. However, thin-film photovoltaics have limited absorption of light close to the absorption band edge of the semiconducting photoactive layer. In addition, thin-film photovoltaics fabricated from amorphous semiconductors, such as amorphous Si or organic semiconductors, typically require semiconductor thicknesses of ~100 nm due to their low charge carrier mobilities and correspondingly low charge diffusion lengths. However, by restricting the semiconducting active layer thickness in order to efficiently collect photogenerated charge carriers at the electrodes, incomplete light absorption occurs throughout the visible spectrum. To satisfy these competing constraints on the active layer thickness, light trapping techniques are required to increase the amount of light absorbed in physically-thin active layers. Conventional light trapping in thick, crystalline Si photovoltaics is typically achieved using micron-scale photonic structures that are not suitable for thin-film photovoltaics, which have active layers that are thinner than the height of these structures. Additionally, it is difficult to trap light in active layers with thicknesses below the diffraction limit (thicknesses less than half a wavelength in the material) using conventional photonic designs (e.g. total internal reflection of light scattered from a roughened surface). As such, nanophotonic designs, such as plasmonic nanostructures, are necessary to enhance the amount of light that can be absorbed by thin-film semiconductors. Here, we propose the use of multifunctional plasmonic metasurfaces to enhance the light trapping and absorption within physically-thin semiconductor active layers. Plasmonic metasurfaces are two-dimensional artificial materials composed of arrays of sub-wavelength metallic nanostructures where the macroscopic electromagnetic properties of the surface arise from the collective response of the individual nanostructures. They support both localized and propagating surface plasmon polaritons, which are hybrid light-charge density waves that exist at metal-dielectric interfaces and have strongly enhanced electric fields near the metal surface. Use of plasmonic metasurfaces in thin-film photovoltaics leads to enhanced absorption via: increased generation of charge carriers by local electric field enhancements; or increased optical path length through the semiconducting active layer either through light scattering from the nanostructures or by coupling the light to an in-plane waveguiding plasmonic mode. As such, thin-films of semiconductors can be both physically and electrically thin (i.e., thinner than the carrier diffusion length), but optically thick when employing plasmonic metasurfaces as electrodes. We gain further control of the properties of the electrode through application of an ultrathin interfacial layer, with thicknesses of less than 5 nm, which allows for tailoring the electronic properties (e.g., surface workfunction) while minimizing the impact on the optical properties of the resulting multifunctional plasmonic metasurface. In this thesis, we designed and fabricated multifunctional plasmonic metasurfaces with a focus on organic conjugated polymers as thin-film semiconductor active layers. Conjugated-polymer-based organic photovoltaics have shown great potential as alternative energy sources due to their propensity for solution-based processing, rendering devices with the fastest manufacture and energy payback times of all photovoltaic technologies. Conjugated polymers are organic semiconductors composed of primarily earth-abundant elements, and their optical, electronic, and morphological properties can be tuned synthetically. Due to the formation of tightly-bound Frenkel excitons upon photoexcitation, conjugated polymers have strong absorption coefficients, rendering them opaque at film thicknesses on the order of several hundred nanometers. However, like other organic semiconductors, conjugated polymers have low charge mobilities, restricting their thicknesses to less than ~100 nm to minimize charge recombination, thus necessitating the use of nanophotonic light trapping techniques. Improvements in the efficiency of photovoltaics predominantly arise from increases in the photocurrent or the open-circuit voltage of the device. We begin this work by predicting the optimal planar metal electrode structure by calculating the performance parameters for two types of organic photovoltaic devices (conventional and inverted) with a range of electrode surface workfunctions. We show that highly-efficient and stable inverted organic photovoltaics can be achieved by selecting metal electrodes with low parasitic absorption and high workfunctions, which maximizes the photocurrent and open-circuit voltage of the device, respectively. Based on our calculations, Ag electrodes with ultrathin (less than 5 nm) native AgOx surface layers lead to inverted organic photovoltaic devices with maximal efficiencies due to the low parasitic absorption and high workfunction of AgOx/Ag electrodes. This is the first reported theoretical study that systematically compares the performance parameters of conventional and inverted devices considering a range of different metal electrode types. Having predicted the optimal metal electrode and photovoltaic device structure, we design and fabricate plasmonic metasurfaces comprised of Ag nanoparticle arrays on Ag films to increase the active layer absorption in thin-film photovoltaics. We demonstrate that plasmonic metasurfaces comprised of low aspect ratio (height-to-diameter fraction) Ag nanoparticles can lead to enhanced absorption in organic active layers. We show that, in addition to the localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) and propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), absorber-coated plasmonic metasurfaces can support a previously unidentified optical mode type called absorption-induced scattering (AIS). Through our systematic experimental and computational studies, we show that AIS originates from the low energy mode of hybrid plasmon-exciton coupled states, and gives rise to many of the red-edge absorption enhancements frequently observed in plasmon-enhanced organic photovoltaics. We further demonstrate that SPPs with energies less than the AIS mode are out-coupled from absorber-coated metasurfaces for amorphous absorber coatings, but are trapped for semi-crystalline absorber coatings. In addition to developing a deep understanding of how Ag plasmonic metasurfaces can be employed to enhance sub-wavelength light-trapping and absorption in thin-film organic photovoltaic active layers, we further develop a method of controlling the surface workfunction of plasmonic metasurfaces. We fabricate multifunctional plasmonic metasurfaces comprised of Ag metasurfaces with ultrathin interfacial layers to simultaneously control the optical and electronic properties of the metasurface. We employ monolayer MoS2 and AgOx as ultrathin interfacial layers to minimize changes to the optical properties of the plasmonic metasurfaces. We show that, unexpectedly, the MoS2 interfacial layer contributed to the charge photogeneration process, resulting in the formation of a hybrid MoS2-organic active layer. We demonstrate ultrafast charge transfer between MoS2 and the organic layer, and show that the absorption and total charge generation is enhanced in the presence of the Ag plasmonic metasurface. AgOx, on the other hand, serves as a passive interfacial layer, and does not impact the optical properties of the Ag plasmonic metasurface. Thus, these multifunctional plasmonic metasurfaces allow for control of the optical properties of the electrode through the metasurface designs and the electrical properties through selection of ultrathin interfacial layers, which are expected to give rise to enhanced photocurrent and open-circuit voltage, respectively, in thin-film photovoltaic devices.

Download or read book Silicon Nanomaterials Sourcebook written by Klaus D. Sattler and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-07-28 with total page 1133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive tutorial guide to silicon nanomaterials spans from fundamental properties, growth mechanisms, and processing of nanosilicon to electronic device, energy conversion and storage, biomedical, and environmental applications. It also presents core knowledge with basic mathematical equations, tables, and graphs in order to provide the reader with the tools necessary to understand the latest technology developments. From low-dimensional structures, quantum dots, and nanowires to hybrid materials, arrays, networks, and biomedical applications, this Sourcebook is a complete resource for anyone working with this materials: Covers fundamental concepts, properties, methods, and practical applications. Focuses on one important type of silicon nanomaterial in every chapter. Discusses formation, properties, and applications for each material. Written in a tutorial style with basic equations and fundamentals included in an extended introduction. Highlights materials that show exceptional properties as well as strong prospects for future applications. Klaus D. Sattler is professor physics at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, having earned his PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. He was honored with the Walter Schottky Prize from the German Physical Society, and is the editor of the sister work also published by Taylor & Francis, Carbon Nanomaterials Sourcebook, as well as the acclaimed multi-volume Handbook of Nanophysics.

Download or read book Studies of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Generated in Embedded Nano Metallic Particles for Enhanced Efficiency Silicon Solar Cellls written by Oren Guilatt and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: