Related papers: Improved sequentially processed Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 b…
Textured silicon surface structures, in particular black silicon (b-Si), open up possibilities for Si-based solar cells and photodetectors to be extremely thin and highly sensitive owing to perfect light-trapping and anti-reflection…
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…
Functional materials with high electrical conductivity and optical transmittance are vital for thermally tunable free-space photonic systems. Conventional transparent conductors such as graphene and indium tin oxide are limited by high…
Diamond silicon (Si) is the leading material in current solar cell market. However, diamond Si is an indirect band gap semiconductor with a large energy difference (2.4 eV) between the direct gap and the indirect gap, which makes it an…
Electronic structure calculations within screened-exchange hybrid density functional theory show that Cu(In,Ga) antisites in both CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 are localized hole traps, which can be attributed to the experimentally observed N2 level.…
Halide double perovskites have recently been proposed as potential environmentally friendly alternatives to organic group and lead based hybrid halide perovskites. In particular, Cs2BiAgX6 have been synthesized and found to exhibit tunable…
The radiative open circuit voltage loss in a solar cell occurs because the absorptance spectrum near the band gap shows gradual increase rather than sharp step function like transition. This broadening effect has been attributed to band gap…
In2O3 is a prototype wide-band-gap semiconductor that exhibits metallic conductivity when highly doped with Sn while retaining a high degree of transparency to visible light. It is widely used as a transparent window/electrode in solar…
Silver (Ag) coatings have been widely used in many industry areas due to their excellent conductivity. However, wider applications of Ag coatings have been hindered by their poor mechanical properties. In this research, to improve the…
We have observed the compensation of loss in metal by gain in interfacing dielectric in the mixture of aggregated silver nanoparticles and rhodamine 6G dye. The demonstrated six-fold enhancement of the Rayleigh scattering is the evidence of…
We present evidence that band gap narrowing at the heterointerface may be a major cause of the large open circuit voltage deficit of Cu$_2$ZnSnS$_4$/CdS solar cells. Band gap narrowing is caused by surface states that extend the…
Silver (Ag) is considered an ideal material for plasmonic applications in the visible wavelength regime due to its superior optical properties, but its use is limited by the poor chemical stability and structural quality of thermally…
Intermediate band solar cells hold the promise of ultrahigh power conversion efficiencies using a single semiconductor junction. Many current implementations use materials with bandgaps too small to achieve maximum efficiency or use…
By means of the first-principles density functional theory (DFT), I2-II-IV-VI4 type Cu-based quaternary chalcogenides Cu 2 XSiS 4 (X = Ge, Sn, and Pb) have been thoroughly investigated. We report the study of Ge and Sn substitution in the…
The detrimental effect of tail states on the radiative and non-radiative voltage loss has been demonstrated to be a limiting factor for the open circuit voltage in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells. A strategy that has proven effective in reducing…
To advance knowledge of K bonding in Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGS) photovoltaic (PV) absorbers, recent Cu-K-In-Se phase growth studies have been extended to PV performance. First, the effect of distributing K throughout bulk Cu1-xKxInSe2…
Improving phosphor photoluminescence efficiency is a key parameter to boost the performances of many optical devices. In this work, colloidal silver nanocubes, homogeneously spread on a luminescent surface, have proved to help both…
\theta' (Al2Cu) precipitates in Al-Cu-Ag alloys were examined using high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The precipitates nucleated on dislocation loops on which assemblies of {\gamma}'…
Indoor photovoltaics (IPVs) have attracted increasing attention for sustainably powering Internet of Things (IoT) electronics. Sb$_2$S$_3$ is a promising IPV candidate material with a bandgap of ~1.75 eV, which is near the optimal value for…
Interface recombination at the absorber buffer interface impedes the efficiency of a solar cell with an otherwise excellent absorber. The internal voltage or the quasi-Fermi level splitting (qFLs) measures the quality of the absorber.…