Related papers: Fundamentals of PV Efficiency Interpreted by a Two…
Improving the conversion efficiency of solar energy to electricity is most important to mankind. For single-junction photovoltaic solar-cells, the Shockley-Queisser thermodynamic efficiency limit is extensively due to the heat dissipation,…
In this review, we present and discussed the main trends in photovoltaics with emphasize on the conversion efficiency limits. The theoretical limits of various photovoltaics device concepts are presented and analyzed using a flexible…
Maximum efficiency of ideal single-junction photovoltaic (PV) cells is limited to 33% (for one sun illumination) by intrinsic losses such as band edge thermalization, radiative recombination, and inability to absorb below-bandgap photons.…
Photovoltaic energy conversion in photovoltaic cells has been analyzed by the detailed balance approach or by thermodynamic arguments. Here we introduce a network representation to analyze the performance of such systems once a suitable…
The maximum efficiency for photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems without concentration is investigated. Both a combined system where the TEG is mounted directly on the back of the PV and a tandem system where the…
In this work, it is investigated the behavior of the efficiency at maximum power of a quantum dot molecule, acting as a device for photovoltaic conversion. A theoretical approach using a master equation, considering the effect of the energy…
A thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy converter harnesses thermal photons emitted by a hot body and converts them to electricity. When the radiative heat exchange between the emitter and PV cell is spectrally monochromatic, the TPV system can…
The performance of nano-scale energy conversion devices is studied in the framework of state-space models where a device is described by a graph comprising states and transitions between them represented by nodes and links, respectively.…
A simple thermodynamic argument related to a (weakly absorbing) finite dielectric slab illuminated by sunlight- originally suggested by Yablonovich- leads to the conclusion that the absorption in a dielectric can at best be increased by a…
We derive exact analytical solution of the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) model and present all photovoltaic (PV) characteristics in compact and convenient form via the Lambert W function. We show that the SQ condition of chemical of equilibrium…
Carnot efficiency sets a fundamental upper bound on the heat engine efficiency, attainable in the quasi-static limit, albeit at the cost of completely sacrificing power output. In this Letter, we present a minimal heat engine model that can…
One of the important technologies in renewable energy is the Photovoltaic (PV), which is the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level, and improving the efficiency of PV systems is one of the very important factors in…
The ideal solar cell conversion efficiency limit known as the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit, which is based on a detailed balance between absorption and radiation, has long been a target for solar cell researchers. While the theory for this…
It is thought that nature already exploits quantum mechanical properties to increase the efficiency of solar energy harvesting devices. So, the operation of these devices can be enhanced by clever design of a nanoscopic, quantum mechanical…
To absorb the photons below the band-gap energy effectively, we proposed a quantum dot (QD) photocell modeled by multi-level system for the quantum yields and photo-to-charge efficiency limits. The theoretical results show the quantum…
This paper firstly presents the concept of using dual laser beam to irradiate the photovoltaic cell, so as to investigate the temperature dependency of the efficiency of long distance energy transmission. Next, the model on the multiple…
A new thermodynamic limit for the open circuit voltage of solar cells that includes thermalization is obtained in terms of photon entropy. A simple graphical construction makes it possible to link this limit to the existing limits for…
We analyse a device aimed at the conversion of heat into electrical energy, based on a closed cycle in which a distiller generates two solutions at different concentrations, and an electrochemical cell consumes the concentration difference,…
The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) leads to directed photo-currents and photo-voltages in bulk materials. Unlike photo-voltages in p-n junction solar cells that are limited by carrier recombination to values below the bandgap energy of the…
The efficiency of macroscopic heat engines is restricted by the second law of thermodynamics. They can reach at most the efficiency of a Carnot engine. In contrast, heat currents in mesoscopic heat engines show fluctuations. Thus, there is…