20 research outputs found
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Enhancing quantum efficiency of thin-film silicon solar cells by Pareto optimality
We present a composite design methodology for the simulation and optimization of the solar cell performance. Our method is based on the synergy of different computational techniques and it is especially designed for the thin-film cell technology. In particular, we aim to efficiently simulate light trapping and plasmonic effects to enhance the light harvesting of the cell. The methodology is based on the sequential application of a hierarchy of approaches: (a) full Maxwell simulations are applied to derive the photonâs scattering probability in systems presenting textured interfaces; (b) calibrated Photonic Monte Carlo is used in junction with the scattering matrices method to evaluate coherent and scattered photon absorption in the full cell architectures; (c) the results of these advanced optical simulations are used as the pair generation terms in model implemented in an effective Technology Computer Aided Design tool for the derivation of the cell performance; (d) the models are investigated by qualitative and quantitative sensitivity analysis algorithms, to evaluate the importance of the design parameters considered on the models output and to get a first order descriptions of the objective space; (e) sensitivity analysis results are used to guide and simplify the optimization of the model achieved through both Single Objective Optimization (in order to fully maximize devices efficiency) and Multi Objective Optimization (in order to balance efficiency and cost); (f) Local, Global and âGlocalâ robustness of optimal solutions found by the optimization algorithms are statistically evaluated; (g) data-based Identifiability Analysis is used to study the relationship between parameters. The results obtained show a noteworthy improvement with respect to the quantum efficiency of the reference cell demonstrating that the methodology presented is suitable for effective optimization of solar cell devices
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
High-speed detection at two micrometres with monolithic silicon photodiodes
With continued steep growth in the volume of data transmitted over optical networks there is a widely recognized need for more sophisticated photonics technologies to forestall a âcapacity crunchâ[1]. A promising solution is to open new spectral regions at wavelengths near 2”m and to exploit the long-wavelength transmission and amplification capabilities of hollowcore photonic-bandgap fibres[2,3] and the recently available thulium-doped fibre amplifiers[4]. To date, photodetector devices for this window have largely relied on III-V materials[5] or, where the benefits of integration with silicon photonics are sought, GeSn alloys, which have been demonstrated thus far with only limited utility[6-9]. Here, we describe a silicon photodiode operating at 20 Gb/s in this wavelength region. The detector is compatible with standard silicon processing and is integrated directly with silicon-on-insulator waveguides, which suggests future utility in silicon-based mid-infrared integrated optics for applications in communications