Related papers: Double-absorber thin-film solar cell with 34% effi…
A coupled optoelectronic model was implemented along with the differential evolution algorithm to assess the efficacy of grading the bandgap of the CZTSSe layer for enhancing the power conversion efficiency of thin-film CZTSSe solar cells.…
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…
Coating and reflecting thin films for energy harvesting purposes are interesting topics in both theoretical and experimental research. The thin film could help to enhance the absorption of the system via its specific optical properties…
Thin film solar cells have been attractive for decades in advanced green technology platforms due to its possibilities to be integrated with buildings and on-chip applications. However, the bottleneck issues involved to consider the current…
Thin-film solar cells reach high efficiencies and have a low carbon footprint in production. Tandem solar cells have the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of this technology, where the bottom-cell is generally composed of a…
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…
The power conversion efficiency of an ultrathin CIGS solar cell was maximized using a coupled optoelectronic model to determine the optimal bandgap grading of the nonhomogeneous CIGS layer in the thickness direction. The bandgap of the CIGS…
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…
We report on very high enhancement of thin layer's absorption through band-engineering of a photonic crystal structure. We realized amorphous silicon (aSi) photonic crystals, where slow light modes improve absorption efficiency. We show…
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…
CdTe-based thin film solar cell has been modeled and enumerated with a thin CuInTe2 (CIT) current booster layer. CdTe-based n-CdS/p-CdTe/p+-CIT/p++-WSe2 heterojunction device has been evaluated for the highest performance. It is revealed…
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…
An ideal solar thermal absorber has a sharp transition between high and low absorptance at the wavelength where the blackbody emissive power begins to exceed the solar irradiance. However, most real selective absorbers have a fairly broad…
Dual-absorber solar cells represent a promising approach to surpass the efficiency limit of single-junction devices by extending spectral absorption and minimizing thermalization losses. Among earth-abundant thin-film materials, kesterites…
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$^3$…
Minimizing the material usage in thin-film solar cells can reduce manufacturing costs and enable mechanically flexible implementations, but concomitantly diminishes optical absorption. Coherent optical effects can help alleviate this…
The electronic and optical properties of CdGa2Te4 and ZnGa2Te4 were studied using first-principles DFT calculations. Band gaps were calculated using the GGA-PBESol functional. Both materials show promise for photovoltaic applications…
An optoelectronic optimization was carried out for an AlGaAs solar cell containing (i) an n-AlGaAs absorber layer with a graded bandgap and (ii) a periodically corrugated Ag backreflector combined with localized ohmic Pd-Ge-Au backcontacts.…
We propose an efficient plasmonic structure consisting of metal strips and thin-film silicon for solar energy absorption. We numerically demonstrate the absorption enhancement in symmetrical structure based on the mode coupling between the…
Thin-film solar cells with CuIn$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$Se$_2$ (CIGS) absorber are still far below their efficiency limit, although lab cells reach already 19.9%. One important aspect is the homogeneity of the alloy. Large-scale simulations combining…