Related papers: Diffusive external light-trap for solar cells
A film-coupled metamaterial structure is numerically investigated for enhancing the light absorption in an ultrathin photovoltaic layer of crystalline gallium arsenide (GaAs). The top subwavelength concave grating and the bottom metallic…
A solar cell design using the combination of titanium dioxide and graphite as active photon absorbing materials were proposed. The titanium dioxide absorbs photons of nearly ultraviolet wavelengths to produce electron hole pairs, while…
Nonreciprocal electromagnetic devices play an important role in modern optical and microwave technologies. Conventional methods for realizing such systems are incompatible with integrated circuits. With recent advances in integrated…
We propose an efficient multiband absorber comprising a truncated one-dimensional periodic metal-dielectric photonic crystal and a reflective substrate. The reflective substrate is actually an optically thick metallic film. Such a planar…
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$^3$…
Silicon solar cells dominate the solar cell market with record lab efficiencies reaching almost 26%. However, after 60 years of research, this efficiency saturated close to the theoretical limit for silicon, and radically new approaches are…
Future generations of photoelectrodes for solar fuel generation must employ inexpensive, earth-abundant absorber materials in order to provide a large-scale source of clean energy. These materials tend to have poor electrical transport…
Thermophotovotaics convert thermal radiation from local heat sources to electricity. A new breakthrough in creating highly efficient thin-film solar cells can potentially enable thermophotovoltaic systems with unprecedented high efficiency.…
Non-availability of reliable and sustainable electric power is a major problem in the developing world. Renewable energy sources like solar are not very lucrative in the current stage due to various uncertainties like weather, storage, land…
An efficient descriptor model for fast screening of potential materials for solar cell applications is presented. It works for both excitonic and non-excitonic solar cells materials, and in addition to the energy gap it includes the…
Solar-thermal evaporation, a traditional steam generation method for solar desalination, has received numerous attentions in recent years due to the significant increase in efficiency by adopting interfacial evaporation. While most of the…
Using a combination of quantum and classical computational approaches, we model the electronic structure in amorphous silicon in order gain understanding of the microscopic atomic configurations responsible for light induced degradation of…
Panchromatic absorbing materials are widely regarded as a key strategy for enhancing solar energy utilization and photocurrent generation. However, in artificial molecular systems, broadening the absorption spectrum is often accompanied by…
Current methods for evaluating solar cell efficiencies cannot be applied to extremely thin cells where phenomena from the realm of near field optics prevail. We overcome this problem by offering a rigorous electromagnetic calculation of…
We propose an unexplored class of absorbing materials for high-efficiency solar cells: heterostructures of transition-metal oxides. In particular, LaVO_3 grown on SrTiO_3 has a direct band gap ~1.1 eV in the optimal range as well as an…
Solar cells have generated a lot of interest as a potential source of clean renewable energy for the future. However a big bottleneck in wide scale deployment of these energy sources remain the low efficiency of these conversion devices.…
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…
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…
Efficient devices for light harvesting and photon sensing are fundamental building blocks of basic energy science and many essential technologies. Recent efforts have turned to biomimicry to design the next generation of light-capturing…
We propose and analyze an active mirror structure that uses a subwavelength grating reflector combined with optical gain. The structure is designed to be directly bonded to a thermal substrate (such as diamond) for efficient heat removal.…