Infrared light management in high-efficiency silicon heterojunction and rear-passivated solar cells

Silicon heterojunction solar cells have record-high open-circuit voltages but suffer from reduced short-circuit currents due in large part to parasitic absorption in the amorphous silicon, transparent conductive oxide (TCO), and metal layers. We previously identified and quantified visible and ultraviolet parasitic absorption in heterojunctions; here, we extend the analysis to infrared light in heterojunction solar cells with efficiencies exceeding 20%. An extensive experimental investigation of the TCO layers indicates that the rear layer serves as a crucial electrical contact between amorphous silicon and the metal reflector. If very transparent and at least 150 nm thick, the rear TCO layer also maximizes infrared response. An optical model that combines a ray-tracing algorithm and a thin-film simulator reveals why: parallel-polarized light arriving at the rear surface at oblique incidence excites surface plasmons in the metal reflector, and this parasitic absorption in the metal can exceed the absorption in the TCO layer itself. Thick TCO layers-or dielectric layers, in rear-passivated diffused-junction silicon solar cells-reduce the penetration of the evanescent waves to the metal, thereby increasing internal reflectance at the rear surface. With an optimized rear TCO layer, the front TCO dominates the infrared losses in heterojunction solar cells. As its thickness and carrier density are constrained by anti-reflection and lateral conduction requirements, the front TCO can be improved only by increasing its electron mobility. Cell results attest to the power of TCO optimization: With a high-mobility front TCO and a 150-nm-thick, highly transparent rear ITO layer, we recently reported a 4-cm(2) silicon heterojunction solar cell with an active-area short-circuit current density of nearly 39 mA/cm(2) and a certified efficiency of over 22%. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4772975

Preparation and Instability of Nanocrystalline Cuprous Nitride

Low-dimensional cuprous nitride (Cu3N) was synthesized by nitridation (ammonolysis) of cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanocrystals using either ammonia (NH3) or urea (H2NCONH2) as the nitrogen source. The resulting nanocrystalline Cu3N spontaneously decomposes to nanocrystalline CuO in the presence of both water and oxygen from air at room temperature. Ammonia was produced in 60% chemical yield during Cu3N decomposition, as measured using the colorimetric indophenol method. Because Cu3N decomposition requires H2O and produces substoichiometric amounts of NH3\u3e, we conclude that this reaction proceeds through a complex stoichiometry that involves the concomitant release of both N2 and NH3. This is a thermodynamically unfavorable outcome, strongly indicating that H2O (and thus NH3 production) facilitate the kinetics of the reaction by lowering the energy barrier for Cu3N decomposition. The three different Cu2O, Cu3N, and CuO nanocrystalline phases were characterized by a combination of optical absorption, powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and electronic density of states obtained from electronic structure calculations on the bulk solids. The relative ease of interconversion between these interesting and inexpensive materials bears possible implications for catalytic and optoelectronic applications

From evolutionary computation to the evolution of things

Evolution has provided a source of inspiration for algorithm designers since the birth of computers. The resulting field, evolutionary computation, has been successful in solving engineering tasks ranging in outlook from the molecular to the astronomical. Today, the field is entering a new phase as evolutionary algorithms that take place in hardware are developed, opening up new avenues towards autonomous machines that can adapt to their environment. We discuss how evolutionary computation compares with natural evolution and what its benefits are relative to other computing approaches, and we introduce the emerging area of artificial evolution in physical systems

Strategy for large???scale monolithic Perovskite/Silicon tandem solar cell: A review of recent progress

For any solar cell technology to reach the final mass-production/commercialization stage, it must meet all technological, economic, and social criteria such as high efficiency, large-area scalability, long-term stability, price competitiveness, and environmental friendliness of constituent materials. Until now, various solar cell technologies have been proposed and investigated, but only crystalline silicon, CdTe, and CIGS technologies have overcome the threshold of mass-production/commercialization. Recently, a perovskite/silicon (PVK/Si) tandem solar cell technology with high efficiency of 29.1% has been reported, which exceeds the theoretical limit of single-junction solar cells as well as the efficiency of stand-alone silicon or perovskite solar cells. The International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV) predicts that silicon-based tandem solar cells will account for about 5% market share in 2029 and among various candidates, the combination of silicon and perovskite is the most likely scenario. Here, we classify and review the PVK/Si tandem solar cell technology in terms of homo- and hetero-junction silicon solar cells, the doping type of the bottom silicon cell, and the corresponding so-called normal and inverted structure of the top perovskite cell, along with mechanical and monolithic tandemization schemes. In particular, we review and discuss the recent advances in manufacturing top perovskite cells using solution and vacuum deposition technology for large-area scalability and specific issues of recombination layers and top transparent electrodes for large-area PVK/Si tandem solar cells, which are indispensable for the final commercialization of tandem solar cells

Femtosecond tunneling of polarons in Pb5Cr3F19

The complex dielectric constant/ac electrical conductivity was investigated as a function of frequency and temperature in Pb5Cr3F19. The system undergoes a ferroelectric phase transition at higher temperatures. At lower temperatures the real part of the complex ac electric conductivity was found to follow the universal dielectric response (UDR) σ′ ∝ νs, typical for hopping or tunneling of localized charge carriers. A detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of the UDR parameter s in terms of the theoretical model for tunneling of small polarons revealed that, at low temperatures, this mechanism governs the charge transport in Pb5Cr3F19. The value of the inverse attempt frequency τ0 indicates the femtosecond tunneling of polarons in the system similar to the Büttiker–Landauer transversal time

Nonlinear contributions to the quasistatic and the first-harmonic dielectric response in relaxor systems

Nonlinear dielectric response in relaxor systems was studied as a function of the ac and dc electric field. Significant frequency dependence was found in the nonlinearity a3. The crossover temperature dependence of a3 -a fingerprint of the spherical glass freezing-was confirmed to exist even in the static limit. Beside the expected reflection of the third harmonic component $\varepsilon_3(3\omega)$ additional nonlinear contribution was found in the nonlinear dependence of the first harmonic response $\varepsilon_1(\omega)$. It is shown that this second contribution to the field dependence of $\varepsilon_1(\omega)$ and also the quasistatic measurements of the nonlinear dielectric response throughout the glassy-to-ferroelectric crossover region can be described by the spherical random-bond-random-field model of relaxor ferroelectrics

DIELECTRIC DISPERSION IN FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTALS

Nous avons effectué des mesures de relaxation diélectrique au voisinage de la transition ferroélectrique smectique-A smectique-C* d'un cristal liquide chiral. Ces mesures ont permis d'obtenir pour le DOBAMBC la partie basse fréquence du spectre de fluctuation du paramètre d'ordre lors de cette transition. Dans la phase ferroélectrique (C*), nous avons déterminé la fréquence et l'amplitude à vecteur d'onde nul du mode de Goldstone qui conserve la symétrie. Sa fréquence ne dépend que très légèrement de la température ; elle décroît en approchant de la transition par températures croissantes tandis que son amplitude diminue d'un ordre de grandeur et semble tendre vers 0.The low frequency order parameter fluctuation spectrum of chiral DOBAMBC has been studied at the ferroelectric smectic A → C transition by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. The frequency and the dielectric strength of the symmetry recovering Goldstone mode for q = 0 in the ferroelectric phase have been determined. The frequency is approximately temperature independent, decreasing slightly when approaching Tc from below, while the intensity decreases for an order of magnitude and seems to go to zero at Tc

Polarons in magnetoelectric K

The ac electrical conductivity of magnetoelectric K3Fe5F15 was investigated as a function of frequency and temperature. While at higher temperatures charge transport is governed by a thermally activated process, at lower temperatures the real part of the complex ac electric conductivity was found to follow the universal dielectric response $\sigma^\prime\propto\nu^{s}$, being typical for hopping or tunnelling of localized charge carriers. A detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of the UDR parameter s in terms of the theoretical model for tunnelling of small polarons revealed that, below 80 K, this mechanism governs the charge transport in the K3Fe5F15 magnetoelectric fluoride system