Related papers: Quantum Wells in Photovoltaic Cells
Multijunction solar cell design is guided by both the theoretical optimal bandgap combination as well as the realistic limitations to materials with these bandgaps. For instance, triple-junction III-V multijunction solar cells commonly use…
Photovoltaic materials are recognized for their potential as sustainable energy sources that enable the conversion between light and electrical energy. However, solar cells have been unable to surpass the theoretical limit of 32%, known as…
We report on the influence of the quantum well thickness on the effective band gap and conversion efficiency of In0.12Ga0.88N/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells. The band-to-band transition can be redshifted from 395 to 474 nm by…
The quantum well solar cell (QWSC) is a p - i - n solar cell with quantum wells in the intrinsic region. Previous work has shown that QWSCs have a greater open circuit voltage (Voc) than would be provided by a cell with the quantum well…
A high theoretical efficiency of 47.2% was achieved by a novel combination of In0.51Ga0.49P, GaAs, In0.24Ga0.76As and In0.19Ga0.81Sb subcell layers in a simulated quadruple junction solar cell under 1 sun concentration. The electronic…
We perform the quantum yields in a multi-band quantum dot (QD) photocell via doping an intermediate band (IB) between the conduction band (CB) and valence band (VB). Under two different sub-band gap layouts, the output power has a prominent…
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…
The theoretical maximum efficiency of a solar cell is typically characterized by a detailed balance of optical absorption and emission for a semiconductor in the limit of unity radiative efficiency and an ideal step-function response for…
Intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) pursue the increase in efficiency by absorbing below-bandgap energy photons while preserving the output voltage. Experimental IBSCs based on quantum dots have already demonstrated that both…
A high photon to electricity conversion efficiency of 47.2082% was achieved by a novel combination of In0.51Ga0.49P, GaAs, In0.24Ga0.76As and In0.19Ga0.81Sb subcell layers in a quadruple junction solar cell design. The electronic bandgap of…
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…
The GaAs/AlGaAs materials system is well suited to multi-bandgap applications such as the multiple quantum well solar cell. GaAs quantum wells are inserted in the undoped AlGaAs active region of a pin structure to extend the absorption…
We employ a detailed balance approach to model a single-junction solar cell with a realistic narrow-band, non-unity-quantum-yield upconverter. As upconverter bandwidths are increased from 0 to 0.5 eV, maximum cell efficiencies increase from…
The Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit, introduced by W. Shockley and H. J. Queisser in 1961, is the most well-established fundamental efficiency limit for single-junction photovoltaic solar cells. For widely-studied semiconductors such as Si,…
Light fusion increases the efficiency of solar cells by converting photons with lower energy than the bandgap into higher energy photons. The solar cell converts the product photons to current. We use Monte Carlo simulation to predict that…
The maximal concentration limit of solar radiation for photovoltaic applications is assumed to be constant, at Cmax\approx46,000 suns. This limit is easily found via a geometrical application of the 2nd law of thermodynamics to a radiation…
An isolated single-junction solar cell's temperature in outer space depends only on its radiation exchange with its environment. We consider a cell with zero emissivity below its bandgap and unity above it -- an idealization so far…
The intermediate band solar cell (IBSC) and quantum ratchet solar cell (QRSC) have the potential to surpass the efficiency of standard single-junction solar cells by allowing sub-gap photon absorption through states deep inside the band…
Tandem solar cells can better harness the energy of the solar spectrum. Chalcopyrite solar cells have drawn attention, being the only highly efficient devices with bandgap around 1.0 eV, suitable for bottom cells. In the quest for better…
There remains wide interest in solar cells being made using inexpensive materials and simple device manufacturing techniques to harvest ever-increasing amounts of energy. New semiconductor materials and new quantum nanostructures are…