Related papers: Diffusive external light-trap for solar cells
The challenge in solar energy today is not the cost of photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation, already competing with fossil fuel prices, but rather utility-scale energy storage and flexibility in supply. Low-cost thermal energy storage…
Ultrathin solar cells reduce material usage and allow the use of lower-quality materials thanks to their one order of magnitude smaller thickness than their conventional counterparts. However, efficient photonic light-trapping is required…
A design tool was formulated for optimizing the efficiency of inorganic, thin-film, photovoltaic solar cells. The solar cell can have multiple semiconductor layers in addition to antireflection coatings, passivation layers, and buffer…
A novel electronic film solar energy concentrator with embedded micro-mirrors that track the sun is described. The potential viability of this new concept is presented. Due to miniaturization, the amount of material needed for the optical…
We report on the fabrication of two-dimensional periodic photonic nanostructures by nanoimprint lithography and dry etching, and their integration into a 1-{\mu}m-thin mono-crystalline silicon solar cell. Thanks to the periodic…
Multi-junction photovoltaics provide a logical method of increasing the utilization of solar power for a given area. However, their current design and fabrication methods invoke numerous material and cost complexities that limit their…
Stability is one of the most important challenges facing organic solar cells (OSC) on their path to commercialization. In the high-performance material system PM6:Y6 studied here, investigate degradation mechanisms of inverted photovoltaic…
The absorption of electromagnetic radiation by a planar structure, consisting of a three-layer dielectric-metal-dielectric coating on a metal back-reflector is analysed. The conditions for total absorption are derived. Our analysis shows…
We use a rigorous electromagnetic approach to analyze the fundamental limit of light-trapping enhancement in grating structures. This limit can exceed the bulk limit of 4n^2, but has significant angular dependency. We explicitly show that…
Organic solar cells (OSCs) are uniquely suited for semitransparent applications due to their adjustable absorption spectrum. However, most high-performance semitransparent cells reported to date are based on materials that have shown high…
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…
Hot carrier solar cells allow potential efficiency close to the thermodynamical limit in ideal conditions. However, the feasability of such devices has not been clearly stated so far and only ideal cells were considered in previous studies.…
Strong interference in ultrathin film semiconductor absorbers on metallic back reflectors has been shown to enhance the light harvesting efficiency of solar cell materials. However, metallic back reflectors are not suitable for tandem cell…
Maximizing the power conversion efficiency of solar cells plays a crucial role in upscaling solar energy production. Combining two or more solar cells with different bandgaps into a multi-junction tandem solar cells lowers thermalization…
We report an improved device fabrication process employed in the development of an advanced front contact grid design employing external busbars. The advanced fabrication process results in enhanced solar cell performance measured at…
Silicon photodetectors operating at near-infrared wavelengths with high-speed and high sensitivity are becoming critical for emerging applications, such as Light Detection and Ranging Systems (LIDAR), quantum communications, and medical…
In this article, we investigate the effect of prolonged light exposure on silicon heterojunction solar cells. We show that, although light exposure systematicallyimproves solar cell efficiency in the case of devices using intrinsic and…
Ultrathin planar absorbing layers, including semiconductor and metal films, and 2D materials, are promising building blocks for solar energy harvesting devices but poor light absorption has been a critical issue. Although interference in…
Conventional photocells suffer a fundamental efficiency threshold imposed by the principle of detailed balance, reflecting the fact that good absorbers must necessarily also be fast emitters. This limitation can be overcome by `parking' the…
A 2-D photonic crystal was integrated experimentally into a thin-film crystalline-silicon solar cell of 1-{\mu}m thickness, after numerical optimization maximizing light absorption in the active material. The photonic crystal boosted the…