Related papers: Revisiting Thin Silicon for Photovoltaics: A Techn…
Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technologies address crucial challenges in solar energy applications, including scalability, cost-effectiveness, and environmental sustainability. This paper reviews critically, thin-film technologies such as…
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…
It is currently possible to fabricate crystalline silicon solar cells with the absorber thickness ranging from a few hundreds of micrometers (conventional wafer-based cells) to devices as thin as $1\,\mu\mathrm{m}$. In this work, we use a…
Silicon photonic devices fundamental to high-density wavelength-division multiplexed (DWDM) optical links and photonic switching networks, such as resonant modulators and Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs), are highly sensitive to…
Low cost, highly efficient, and stable solar cells demand low temperature processing, less stringent criteria on materials, and possibility of dynamic recovery from long term degradation: a combination of features unachievable from the…
While the installed photovoltaic capacity grows to a terawatt scale, effects of global climate change unfold. The question arises, how a changing climate, and especially raising temperatures, will affect the performance of PV installations…
Lack of materials which are thermoelectrically efficient and economically attractive is a challenge in thermoelectricity. Silicon could be a good thermoelectric material offering CMOS compatibility, harmlessness and cost reduction but it…
To facilitate the widespread adoption of renewable energy, dispatchable, zero-emission power sources are essential for grid stability. This work performs a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of a self-sustainable thermophotovoltaic…
We propose a new concept for the design of high-efficiency photocells based on ultra-thin (submicron) semiconductor films of controlled thickness. Using a microscopic model of a thin dielectric layer interacting with incident…
Sub-micrometer thin films are promising platforms for emerging flexible photovoltaic devices. Although the current market already produces efficient solar cells, the average wafer thickness of these devices remains far from the…
Among several solutions to exploit solar energy, thermophotovoltaics (TPV) have been popularized and have known great breakthroughs during the past two decades. Yet, existing systems still have low efficiencies since the wavelength range of…
We report the efforts and challenges dedicated towards building a scalable quantum computer based on Si spin qubits. We review the advantages of relying on devices fabricated in a thin film technology as their properties can be in situ…
With the practical efficiency of the silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell approaching its theoretical limit, pushing conversion efficiencies even higher now relies on reducing every type of power loss that can occur within the device. Limiting…
Thermophotovoltaics (TPVs) have the potential to exhibit higher power conversion efficiencies than traditional photovoltaics (PVs), with a broad range of applicability from waste recovery systems to aerospace solutions. They operate by…
Thin-film solar cells that are considered as the second generation of solar cells are known for their low cost and acceptable efficiency. In this technology, semiconductor layers with a thickness of micrometer are deposited on thick enough…
Thermophotovoltaics (TPV) are a promising new approach for converting heat to electricity. Their performance is primarily characterized by two metrics: efficiency and power density. While recent works have shown high efficiency, it is…
Nano-scaled metallic or dielectric structures may provide various ways to trap light into thin-film solar cells for improving the conversion efficiency. In most schemes, the textured active layers are involved into light trapping structures…
Historically, the design of hybrid solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems has focused on cooling crystalline silicon (c-Si)-based photovoltaic (PV) devices to avoid temperature-related losses. This approach neglects the associated…
As the photovoltaic sector approaches 1 TW in cumulative installed capacity, we provide an overview of the current challenges to achieve further technological improvements. On the raw materials side, we see no fundamental limitation to…
A new approach is introduced to significantly improve the performance of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems by using low-dimensional thermal emitters and photovoltaic (PV) cells. By reducing the thickness of both the emitter and the PV cell,…