11,991 research outputs found
Inorganic Photovoltaics Materials and Devices: Past, Present, and Future
This report describes recent aspects of advanced inorganic materials for photovoltaics or solar cell applications. Specific materials examined will be high-efficiency silicon, gallium arsenide and related materials, and thin-film materials, particularly amorphous silicon and (polycrystalline) copper indium selenide. Some of the advanced concepts discussed include multi-junction III-V (and thin-film) devices, utilization of nanotechnology, specifically quantum dots, low-temperature chemical processing, polymer substrates for lightweight and low-cost solar arrays, concentrator cells, and integrated power devices. While many of these technologies will eventually be used for utility and consumer applications, their genesis can be traced back to challenging problems related to power generation for aerospace and defense. Because this overview of inorganic materials is included in a monogram focused on organic photovoltaics, fundamental issues and metrics common to all solar cell devices (and arrays) will be addressed
Theoretical Limits of Photovoltaics Efficiency and Possible Improvements by Intuitive Approaches Learned from Photosynthesis and Quantum Coherence
In this review, we present and discussed the main trends in photovoltaics
with emphasize on the conversion efficiency limits. The theoretical limits of
various photovoltaics device concepts are presented and analyzed using a
flexible detailed balance model where more discussion emphasize is toward the
losses. Also, few lessons from nature and other fields to improve the
conversion efficiency in photovoltaics are presented and discussed as well.
From photosynthesis, the perfect exciton transport in photosynthetic complexes
can be utilized for PVs. Also, we present some lessons learned from other
fields like recombination suppression by quantum coherence. For example, the
coupling in photosynthetic reaction centers is used to suppress recombination
in photocells.Comment: 47 pages, 22 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1307.5093, arXiv:1105.4189 by other author
Multiscale approaches to high efficiency photovoltaics
While renewable energies are achieving parity around the globe, efforts to
reach higher solar cell efficiencies becomes ever more difficult as they
approach the limiting efficiency. The so-called third generation concepts
attempt to break this limit through a combination of novel physical processes
and new materials and concepts in organic and inorganic systems. Some examples
of semi-empirical modelling in the field are reviewed, in particular for
multispectral solar cells on silicon (french ANR project MULTISOLSI). Their
achievements are outlined, and the limits of these approaches shown. This
introduces the main topic of this contribution, which is the use of multiscale
experimental and theoretical techniques to go beyond the semi-empirical
understanding of these systems. This approach has already led to great advances
at modelling which have led to modelling software which is widely known. Yet a
survey of the topic reveals a fragmentation of efforts across disciplines,
firstly, such as organic and inorganic fields, but also between the high
efficiency concepts such as hot carrier cells and intermediate band concepts.
We show how this obstacle to the resolution of practical research obstacles may
be lifted by inter-disciplinary cooperation across length scales, and across
experimental and theoretical fields, and finally across materials systems. We
present a European COST Action MultiscaleSolar kicking off in early 2015 which
brings together experimental and theoretical partners in order to develop
multiscale research in organic and inorganic materials. The goal of this
defragmentation and interdisciplinary collaboration is to develop understanding
across length scales which will enable the full potential of third generation
concepts to be evaluated in practise, for societal and industrial applications.Comment: Draft paper accompanying a plenary presentation to the World
Renewable Energy Conference WREC 2015, June 2015, Bucharest. In press (IOP
Emerging Next Generation Solar Cells Route to High Efficiency and Low Cost
Generation of clean energy is one of the main challenges of the 21st century. Solar energy is the most abundantly available renewable energy source which would be supplying more than 50 of the global electricity demand in 2100. Solar cells are used to convert light energy into electrical energy directly with an appeal that it does not generate any harmful bi products, like greenhouse gasses. The manufacturing of solar cells is actually based on the types of semiconducting or non semiconducting materials used and commercial maturity. From the very beginning of the terrestrial use of Solar Cells, efficiency and costs are the main focusing areas of research. The definition of so called emerging technologies sometimes described as including any technology capable of overcoming the Shockley-Queisser limit of power conversion efficiency 33.7 percent for a single junction device. In this paper, few promising materials for solar cells are discussed including their structural morphology, electrical and optical properties. The excellent state of the art technology, advantages and potential research issues yet to be explored are also pointed out. Md. Samiul Islam Sadek | Dr. M Junaebur Rashid | Dr. Zahid Hasan Mahmood "Emerging Next Generation Solar Cells: Route to High Efficiency and Low Cost" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-1 | Issue-4 , June 201
Van der Waals Materials for Atomically-Thin Photovoltaics: Promise and Outlook
Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors provide a unique opportunity for
optoelectronics due to their layered atomic structure, electronic and optical
properties. To date, a majority of the application-oriented research in this
field has been focused on field-effect electronics as well as photodetectors
and light emitting diodes. Here we present a perspective on the use of 2D
semiconductors for photovoltaic applications. We discuss photonic device
designs that enable light trapping in nanometer-thickness absorber layers, and
we also outline schemes for efficient carrier transport and collection. We
further provide theoretical estimates of efficiency indicating that 2D
semiconductors can indeed be competitive with and complementary to conventional
photovoltaics, based on favorable energy bandgap, absorption, external
radiative efficiency, along with recent experimental demonstrations. Photonic
and electronic design of 2D semiconductor photovoltaics represents a new
direction for realizing ultrathin, efficient solar cells with applications
ranging from conventional power generation to portable and ultralight solar
power.Comment: 4 figure
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