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Various spectral control techniques can be applied to improve the performance of a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system. For example, a back surface reflector (BSR) can improve the performance of TPV systems. A conventional metal BSR structure…
For commercial one-sun solar modules, up to 80% of the incoming sunlight may be dissipated as heat, potentially raising the temperature 20 C - 30 C higher than the ambient. In the long term, extreme self-heating erodes efficiency and…
Climate changes and its many associated impacts are one of the most critical global challenges. Photovoltaics has been instrumental in mitigation of CO$_2$ through the generation of electricity. However, the goal of limiting global warming…
While the installed photovoltaic capacity grows to a terawatt scale, effects of global climate change unfold. The question arises, how a changing climate, and especially raising temperatures, will affect the performance of PV installations…
We investigate and evaluate the contribution of the ultraviolet radiation spectrum on the temperature and efficiency of commercial crystalline silicon-based photovoltaics (PVs) that operate outdoors. The investigation is performed by…
The time averaged efficiency of photovoltaic modules in the field is generally lower than the efficiency measured in the laboratory under standard testing conditions due to the combined effects of temperature and spectral variability,…
Benefit to layer-dependent bandgap, van der Waals materials with surface photovoltaic effect (SPV) enable photodetection over a tunable wavelength range with low power consumption. However, sensitive SPV in the infrared region, especially…
Harnessing low energy photons is of paramount importance for multi-junction high efficiency solar cells as well as for thermo-photovoltaic applications. However, semiconductor absorbers with bandgap lower than 0.8 eV have been limited to…
Increased reflectance from the inclusion of highly scattering particles at low volume fractions in an insulating dielectric offers a promising way to reduce radiative thermal losses at high temperatures. Here, we investigate plasmonic…
There is a renewed interest in photovoltaic solar thermal (PVT) hybrid systems, which harvest solar energy for heat and electricity. Typically, a main focus of a PVT system is to cool the photovoltaic (PV) cells to improve the electrical…
Creating a single bandgap solar cell that approaches the Shockley-Queisser limit requires a highly reflective rear mirror. This mirror enhances the voltage of the solar cell by providing photons with multiple opportunities for escaping out…
Maximum efficiency of ideal single-junction photovoltaic (PV) cells is limited to 33% (for one sun illumination) by intrinsic losses such as band edge thermalization, radiative recombination, and inability to absorb below-bandgap photons.…
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.…
While various nanophotonic structures applicable to relatively thin crystalline silicon-based solar cells were proposed to ensure effective light in-coupling and light trapping in the absorber, it is of great importance to evaluate their…
We investigate the performance of thermoradiative (TR) cells using the III-V group of semiconductors, which include GaAs, GaSb, InAs, and InP, with the aim of determining their efficiency and finding the best TR cell materials among the…
Degradation of backsheets (BS) and encapsulant polymer components of silicon PV modules is recognized as one of the main reasons for losses in PV plant performance and lifetime expectations. Here, we report first insights into the…
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.…
A p-n junction maintained at above ambient temperature can work as a heat engine, converting some of the supplied heat into electricity and rejecting entropy by interband emission. Such thermoradiative cells have potential to harvest…
Improving the conversion efficiency of solar energy to electricity is most important to mankind. For single-junction photovoltaic solar-cells, the Shockley-Queisser thermodynamic efficiency limit is extensively due to the heat dissipation,…
Intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) pursue the increase in efficiency by absorbing below-bandgap energy photons while preserving the output voltage. Experimental IBSCs based on quantum dots have already demonstrated that both…