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We suggest a novel concept of efficient light-trapping structures for thin-film solar cells based on arrays of planar nanoantennas operating far from plasmonic resonances. The operation principle of our structures relies on the excitation…
Topological insulator films are promising materials for optoelectronics due to a strong optical absorption and a thickness dependent band gap of the topological surface states. They are superior candidates for photodetector applications in…
Thermophotovoltaic systems in principle enable utilization of heat that is usually regarded as wasted energy. However, the wavelength selectivity of the thermal emitter required for high efficiencies is rather difficult to control with…
Traditional concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems utilize multijunction cells to minimize thermalization losses, but cannot efficiently capture diffuse sunlight, which contributes to a high levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and limits…
Light trapping for solar cells can reduce production cost and improve energy conversion efficiency. Understanding some of the basic theoretical constraints on light trapping is therefore of fundamental importance. Here, we develop a general…
The quantum efficiency and reflectivity of thick, back-illuminated CCD's being fabricated at LBNL for astronomical applications are modeled and compared with experiment. The treatment differs from standard thin-film optics in that (a)…
The demand for high-efficiency photovoltaic systems necessitates innovations that transcend the efficiency limitations of single-junction solar cells. This study investigates a tandem photovoltaic architecture comprising a top-cell with a…
The increase of cell efficiency resulting from using a diffraction grating as a back reflector is investigated. An enhancement coefficient is introduced as a figure of merit that accounts for the ability of the rear grating to increase the…
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…
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.…
While silicon solar cells dominate global photovoltaic energy production, their continued improvement is hindered by the single junction limit. One potential solution is to use molecular singlet exciton fission to generate two electrons…
The active layer microstructure of organic solar cells is critical to efficiency. By studying the photovoltaic properties of organic solar cell's microstructure, it is possible to increase the efficiency of the solar cell. A graph-based…
The optical absorption of nanoscale thickness semiconductor films on top of light-trapping structures based on optical interference effects combined with spectrum-splitting structures is theoretically investigated. Nearly perfect absorption…
Photogalvanic solar cells, the original dye based solar cell, have yet to fulfill their promise as a low fabrication cost, scalable energy conversion system. The efficient performance of photogalvanic cells relies on high dye solubility and…
The integration of two-dimensional (2D) periodic nanopattern defined by nanoimprint lithography and dry etching into aluminum induced crystallization (AIC) based polycrystalline silicon (Poly-Si) thin film solar cells is investigated…
All-perovskite tandem solar cells with narrow and wide bandgap perovskite absorbers are promising candidates for low-cost and high efficiency photovoltaic applications. However, the open circuit voltage of typical tandem structures is…
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.…
The ideal band gap for a photovoltaic active layer for the solar spectrum is around 1.3 eV. However oxides with such values are rare. One of the most studied oxides to date as a photovoltaic active layer is the cuprous oxide Cu2O. Its band…
Near-field thermophotovoltaic systems functioning at 400$\sim$900~K based on graphene-hexagonal-boron-nitride heterostructures and thin-film InSb $p$-$n$ junctions are investigated theoretically. The performances of two near-field systems…
Solar cells based on kesterite-type $Cu_2ZnSnS_4$ (CZTS) thin films were fabricated using a chemical route to prepare the $CZTS$ films, consisting in sequential deposition of $Cu_2SnS_3$ (CTS) and $ZnS$ thin films followed by annealing at…