Download or read book Light Trapping Designs for Thin Silicon Solar Cells written by James Mutitu and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the increasing scarcity of fossil fuels and a general concern for the environmental impacts of carbon emissions and hazardous radiation, the need for clean renewable energy sources has become not only a national priority but also an issue of national security. Renewed interest in the development of solar electricity has led to the development of new avenues that address the issues of cost and efficiency associated with photovoltaics. One of the prominent approaches being explored is thin film solar cell technology, which offers prospects of lower material costs and increases the adaptability of solar cell design. The goal of this work is to increase the efficiency and versatility of thin film solar cell devices through the development of improved light trapping schemes. Enhanced light trapping schemes increase the absorption of light within solar cell devices and thereby increase the efficiency and ultimately reduce the cost per watt of energy produced. This thesis introduces the fundamental ideas behind the science of light trapping in thin silicon solar cells. The specific approach involves enhancing the light trapping capabilities, of the thin solar cells, by incorporating photonic device engineering concepts which include photonic crystals, diffraction gratings and antireflective coatings. These concepts are then used to develop novel light trapping designs that are applied to stand alone and multiple junction thin silicon solar cells. The new designs, that are developed, incorporate one dimensional photonic crystals as band pass filters that reflect short light wavelengths (400-1100 nm) and transmit longer wavelengths(1100 -1800 nm) at the interface between two adjacent cells. In addition, nano structured diffraction gratings that cut into the photonic crystal layers are incorporated to redirect incoming waves and hence increase the optical path length of light within the solar cells.
Download or read book Light Trapping in Thin Film Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells written by Javaneh Boroumand Azad and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation presents numerical and experimental studies of a unified light trapping approach that is extremely important for all practical solar cells. A 2D hexagonal Bravais lattice diffractive pattern is studied in conjunction with the verification of the reflection mechanisms of single and double layer anti-reflective coatings in the broad range of wavelength 400 nm - 1100 nm. By varying thickness and conformity, we obtained the optimal parameters which minimize the broadband reflection from the nanostructured crystalline silicon surface over a wide range of angle 0°-65°. While the analytical design of broadband, angle independent anti-reflection coatings on nanostructured surfaces remains a scientific challenge, numerical optimization proves a viable alternative, paving the path towards practical implementation of the light trapping solar cells. A 3 [micrometer] thick light trapping solar cell is modeled in order to predict and maximize combined electron-photon harvesting in ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells. It is shown that the higher charge carrier generation and collection in this design compensates the absorption and recombination losses and ultimately results in an increase in energy conversion efficiency. Further, 20 [micrometer] and 100 [micrometer] thick functional solar cells with the light trapping scheme are studied. The efficiency improvement is observed numerically and experimentally due to photon absorption enhancement in the light trapping cells with respect to a bare cell of same thickness.
Download or read book Introduction to Light Trapping in Solar Cell and Photo detector Devices written by Stephen J. Fonash and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2014-09-15 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Approaches to Light Trapping in Solar Cell Devices discusses in detail the use of photonic and plasmonic effects for light trapping in solar cells. It compares and contrasts texturing, the current method of light-trapping design in solar cells, with emerging approaches employing photonic and plasmonic phenomena. These new light trapping methods reduce the amount of absorber required in a solar cell, promising significant cost reduction and efficiency. This book highlights potential advantages of photonics and plasmonics and describes design optimization using computer modeling of these approaches. Its discussion of ultimate efficiency possibilities in solar cells is grounded in a review of the Shockley-Queisser analysis; this includes an in-depth examination of recent analyses building on that seminal work.
Download or read book Nanotechnology for Energy Sustainability written by Baldev Raj and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-01-27 with total page 1487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dieses Referenzwerk in drei handlichen Bänden bietet einen detaillierten Überblick über Anwendungen der Nanotechnologie im Bereich Nachhaltigkeit in der Energieversorgung. Der erste Band dieses klar strukturierten Nachschlagewerks behandelt nach der Einleitung die Themen Energieerzeugung, erneuerbare Energien, Energiespeicherung, Energieverteilung sowie Energieumwandlung und Energy-Harvesting. Im zweiten Band werden auf Nanotechnologie basierte Materialen, Energieeinsparung und -management, technologische und urheberrechtlich relevante Fragen, Märkte und Umweltsanierung erörtert. Der dritte Band wirft einen Blick in die Zukunft, auf technologische Fortschritte und gibt Empfehlungen. Ein wichtiges Handbuch für alle Experten auf diesem Gebiet, von Forschern und Ingenieuren im wissenschaftlichen Bereich bis hin zu Entwicklern in der Industrie.
Download or read book Anti reflection and Light Trapping in c Si Solar Cells written by Chetan Singh Solanki and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-06-30 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers essential insights into c-Si based solar cells and fundamentals of reflection, refraction, and light trapping. The basic physics and technology for light trapping in c-Si based solar cells are covered, from traditional to advanced light trapping structures. Further, the book discusses the latest developments in plasmonics for c-Si solar cell applications, along with their future scope and the requirements for further research. The book offers a valuable guide for graduate students, researchers and professionals interested in the latest trends in solar cell technologies.
Download or read book Diffractive Optics for Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells written by Christian Stefano Schuster and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-09-26 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis introduces a figure of merit for light trapping with photonic nanostructures and shows how different light trapping methods compare, irrespective of material, absorber thickness or type of nanostructure. It provides an overview of the essential aspects of light trapping, offering a solid basis for future designs. Light trapping with photonic nanostructures is a powerful method of increasing the absorption in thin film solar cells. Many light trapping methods have been studied, but to date there has been no comprehensive figure of merit to compare these different methods quantitatively. This comparison allows us to establish important design rules for highly performing structures; one such rule is the structuring of the absorber layer from both sides, for which the authors introduce a novel and simple layer-transfer technique. A closely related issue is the question of plasmonic vs. dielectric nanostructures; the authors present an experimental demonstration, aided by a detailed theoretical assessment, highlighting the importance of considering the multipass nature of light trapping in a thin film, which is an essential effect that has been neglected in previous work and which allows us to quantify the parasitic losses.
Download or read book High Efficiency Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells with Novel Light Trapping written by Lirong Zeng (Ph. D.) and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (Cont.) To prove the theory on the intended application, top-contacted thin film Si solar cells integrated with the TPC back reflector are successfully fabricated using Si-on-insulator material through an active layer transfer technique. All cells exhibit strong absorption enhancement, similar to that predicted by simulation. The 5 [mu]m thick cells gained 19% short circuit current density improvement, despite machine problems during fabrication. The textured photonic crystal back reflector design can be applied directly to single and poly-crystalline Si solar cells, and its principle is broadly applicable to other materials systems.
Download or read book Light Trapping with Plasmonic Back Contacts in Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells written by Ulrich Wilhelm Paetzold and published by Forschungszentrum Jülich. This book was released on 2013 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Light Trapping in Thin Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells written by James A. Rand and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Thin Silicon Solar Cells written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The silicon-film design achieves high performance by using a dun silicon layer and incorporating light trapping. Optimally designed thin crystalline solar cells (
Download or read book Light Trapping Design in Silicon Based Solar Cells written by Fengxiang Chen and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Novel Light Trapping Techniques for Silicon Solar Cells written by Ahmed Emad ElDean ElSayed Khalifa and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Thin-film silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells have attracted significant interest for decades due to the increasing demand for clean and sustainable energy resources. Further reduction of the cost of materials and manufacturing processes is required to reach the grid parity where the cost of electricity from solar PV cells is equal to the cost of other nonrenewable resources. Crystalline and thin-film silicon solar cells are anticipated to continue to be one of the dominant solar PV cell technologies. This anticipation is due to the abundance of silicon and the successful history of a continuous drop in cost in silicon-based PV cells. In this thesis, several designs were investigated to enhance absorption of sunlight in the active layers of silicon-based solar cells. In the first design, a plasmonic enhancement to silicon solar cells using (Titanium nitride) TiN as a replacement for silver is studied. In the second, a new design for tandem thin-film silicon solar cells is proposed using a periodic layer between the two subcells. Finally, a low-cost easily fabricated nanocone facial textures is proposed and showed promising experimental and simulation antireflection properties. 3D electromagnetic analysis was performed using finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations to all structures and 3D Device simulations were additionally used to study the tandem cell structure. These contributions which were published are believed to contribute towards achieving high efficiency and cost-effective solar cells.
Download or read book Design and Fabrication of Nanostructures for Light trapping in Ultra thin Solar Cells written by Inès Massiot and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reducing the absorber thickness is an attractive solution to decrease the production cost of solar cells. Furthermore, it allows to reduce the amount of material needed and improve the current collection in the cell. This thesis has been focused on the design of nanostructures to enhance light absorption in very small semiconductor volumes in order to achieve efficient ultra-thin solar cells. First, we have proposed an original light-trapping concept for ultra-thin amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. A one-dimensional metallic grating is patterned on the front surface of the cell deposited on a metallic mirror. Broadband multi-resonant absorption has been demonstrated for both light polarizations. The metallic grating is also used as an alternative transparent electrode in order to reduce optical losses in the front contact. A detailed analysis of the multi-resonant absorption mechanism has been carried out through numerical calculations. The fabrication and optical characterization of ultra-thin a-Si:H solar cells with metallic gratings have validated the multi-resonant approach.Second, we have proposed a design with a two-dimensional metallic grid as a resonant front contact for very thin (25 nm) gallium arsenide (GaAs) layers. We have shown through the design and fabrication of a proof-of-concept structure the potential of metallic nanogrids to confine efficiently light absorption with an ultra-thin GaAs layer.Finally, advanced light-trapping structures could also allow a thickness reduction of crystalline silicon wafers of a factor 20 to 100 with respect to state-of-the-art cells. We have developed a process to transfer micron-thick epitaxial crystalline silicon (c-Si) layers onto a low-cost host substrate. Inverted nanopyramids have also been fabricated in crystalline silicon in order to achieve a broadband anti-reflection effect. It opens promising perspectives towards the realization of double-sided nanopatterned ultra-thin c-Si cells.
Download or read book Advanced Methods for Light Trapping in Optically Thin Silicon Solar Cells written by James Richard Nagel and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Light Trapping in Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells on Plastic Substrates written by M. M. de Jong and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ultrathin Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells Incorporating Advanced Light trapping Structures written by Matthew S. Branham and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solar photovoltaics, which convert the energy potential of photons from the sun directly into electrical power, hold immense promise as a cornerstone of a clean energy future. Yet their cost remains greater than that of conventional energy sources in most markets and a barrier to large-scale adoption. Crystalline silicon modules, with a 90% share of the worldwide photovoltaic market, have witnessed a precipitous drop in price over the last decade. But going forward, further evolutionary cost reduction will be difficult given the significant cost of the silicon wafer alone - roughly 35% of the module. Dramatically reducing the thickness of silicon used to make a solar cell from the current 350 [mu]m could rewrite the economics of photovoltaics. For thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells to deliver the anticipated cost benefits of reduced material requirements, it is essential that they also yield power conversion efficiencies comparable to commercial solar cells. A significant hurdle to realizing elevated efficiency in crystalline silicon films thinner than 20 [mu]m is the loss of current resulting from reduced photon absorption. A range of light management structures have been proposed in the literature to address this issue and many have been demonstrated to provide high absorption across the spectral range relevant to crystalline silicon, but their promise has yet to be realized in an active photovoltaic device. The focus of this thesis is the development of an experimental platform and fabrication process to evaluate the effectiveness of theoretically-designed light-trapping structures in functional photovoltaic devices. The experimental effort yielded 10-pm-thick crystalline silicon solar cells with a peak short-circuit current of 34.5 mA cm-2 and power conversion efficiency of 15.7%. The record performance for a crystalline silicon photovoltaic of such thinness is enabled by an advanced light-trapping design incorporating a 2D photonic crystal and a rear dielectric/reflector stack. A parallel line of questioning addressed in this thesis is whether periodic wavelength-scale optical structures are superior to periodic or random structures with geometric-optics-scale features. Through the synthesis of experimental and theoretical evidence, the case is constructed that wavelength-scale light-trapping structures are in fact comparable to conventional random pyramid surface structures for broad-spectrum absorption in silicon solar cells as thin as 5 [mu]m. These results have important implications for the design of cost-effective and manufacturable light-trapping structures for ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells.
Download or read book Solar Cells written by Martin A. Green and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
