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The absorption of thin hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers can be efficiently enhanced through a controlled periodic patterning. Light is trapped through coupling with photonic Bloch modes of the periodic structures, which act as an…
We present state-of-the-art first-principle calculations of the electronic and optical properties of silicon allotropes with interesting characteristics for applications in thin-film solar cells. These new phases consist of distorted sp$^3$…
Composite light-trapping structures offer a promising approach to achieving broadband absorption and high efficiency in thin-film solar cells (TFSCs) in order to accelerate sustainable energy solutions. As the leading material in thin-film…
Light emitters are bound to strongly interact with light through enhanced absorption and scattering, which imposes limitations on the design and performance of photonic devices such as solar cells, nanoantennas, and (nano) lasers.…
Silicon is an extremely attractive material platform for integrated optics at telecommunications wavelengths, particularly for integration with CMOS circuits. Developing detectors and electrically pumped lasers at telecom wavelengths are…
Thin films are preferred for high photocurrent conversion efficiency, but strong photon absorption at photon energies below the bandgap (near and shortwave infrared) typically requires thicker semiconductor layers. To address this tradeoff,…
Recently, we have suggested dielectric metamaterial composed as an array of submicron dielectric spheres located on top of an amorphous thin-film solar cell. We have theoretically shown that this metamaterial can decrease the reflection and…
Monocrystalline silicon solar cells with photo-absorbing morphology can amplify light-trapping properties within the absorber layer and help to fabricate cost-effective solar cells. In this paper, the effect of different parameters namely…
Solar energy is rapidly becoming a robust renewable energy source to conventional finite resources such as fossil fuels. It is harvested using interconnected photovoltaic panels, typically built with crystalline silicon cells, i.e.…
In this paper, we simulate a front surface inverted pyramidal grating texture on 2 to 400 micron thick silicon and optimize it to derive maximum photocurrent density from the cell. We identify a one size fits all front grating period of…
Buildings or vehicles with transparent envelope can be heated up by sunlight, causing energy consumption for cooling and in extreme cases leading to vehicular heatstroke in a hot climate. Because only visible light for illumination is…
The spectral response and directional scattering of semiconductor-oxide core-shell spherical microparticles embedded in an insulating medium at low volume fraction are computed using Mie Theory and Multiscale Modelling methods. The surface…
Scattering processes in an optical microcavity are investigated for the case of silicon nanocrystals embedded in an ultra-high Q toroid microcavity. Using a novel measurement technique based on the observable mode-splitting, we demonstrate…
We report absorption and photoluminescence spectra of Si and SnO$_2$ polycrystalline nanofilms in the UV-Vis-NIR range, featuring discrete bands resulting from transverse quantum confinement. The film thickness ranged 3.9 nm to 12.2 nm,…
Reducing the thickness of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells is a key objective in order to reduce production cost and to improve sustainability. The major challenge for sub-micron Cu(In,Ga)Se2 cells is the recombination at the backside. In standard…
In this letter we report the preliminary validation of a low-cost paradigm for photovoltaic power generation that utilizes a prismatic Fresnel-like lens to simultaneously concentrate and separate sunlight into continuous laterally spaced…
Silica aerogels are nanoporous materials with exceptional optical and physical properties, making them promising candidates to enhance solar cell efficiency as antireflective coatings. This study synthesized hydrophobic silica aerogel thin…
Antireflection with broadband and wide angle properties is important for a wide range of applications on photovoltaic cells and display. The SiOx shell layer provides a natural antireflection from air to the Si core absorption layer. In…
In the present work we grow anodic TiO$_2$ nanotube layer with tube diameter ~ 500 nm and an open tube mouth. We use this morphology in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and show that these tubes allow the construction of hybrid…
Thin crystalline silicon solar photovoltaics holds great potential for reducing the module price by material saving and increasing the efficiency by reduced bulk recombination loss. However, the module efficiency decreases rather…