Monitoring water vapour penetration using a contactless technique

Some layers of thin film photovoltaic modules maybe critically sensitive to moisture. In this study we present a new tool for monitoring the effect of moisture using a particular Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) as a sensor. The moisture content of the encapsulant was determined by Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectroscopic measurements. The TCO resistivity was measured using an inductive method. The different spectroscopic results show that the diffusion of water vapour in the encapsulant used in this study is in good agreement with Fick’s law and correlate well with the increase of resistivity of the TCO. However, the transport measurements bring evidence for a degradation of the TCO resistivity undetectable by conventional FTIR measurements

Efficiency of silicon thin-film photovoltaic modules with a front coloured glass

Photovoltaic electricity has already proven its ability to compete with other well established technologies for energy production. The abundant and non-toxic raw materials, the yearly increasing efficiency as well as the production cost of silicon thin-film solar cells getting lower and lower make this technology always more interesting for a wide spread use. Beside the functional features, the size, colour and glass texture of a PV module determine its appearance and aesthetics. In order to be more compliant with the built environment, photovoltaic installations have to be improved in terms of visual rendering, matching of colour of the existing roof-tops and parasitic reflections. The crystalline technology already offers various types of systems with a large choice of shapes, textures and colours as well as “semi-transparent” modules more easily integrated in the roof-tops or facade. By changing the anti-reflective coating (ARC) of a crystalline solar cell, it is possible to modify their colour [1]. However, for thin-film silicon technology the challenge is completely different, and up to now, the only way to modify the module colour is to reduce the thickness of the active layer and consequently its efficiency. Therefore new ways to enhance the visual rendering of the thin-film modules have to be explored. A study led in the frame of the ArchinSolar project [2] has shown that architects are ready to integrate PV modules with enhanced aesthetic aspect, even though there was a 10 % loss in efficiency. The present study shows how new coloured filters can be used to enhance PV modules’ appearance while minimizing power loss, to achieve a better integration in the traditional urban or rural environment

Towards accessible nanophotonics: multimode interferometer on strip-loaded slot waveguide

Nano- and micro-photonics are the key-enabling tools for future integrated components and circuitry operating at low power and high speed. By using a strip-loaded platform, we show how we can dramatically reduce the complexity, in terms of fabrication and tolerances, of the most advanced devices. Different configurations of multimode interference devices are presented. We show the design, fabrication, and optical characterization of these components

Towards accessible nanophotonics: multimode interferometer on strip-loaded slot waveguide

Nano- and micro-photonics are the key-enabling tools for future integrated components and circuitry operating at low power and high speed. By using a strip-loaded platform, we show how we can dramatically reduce the complexity, in terms of fabrication and tolerances, of the most advanced devices. Different configurations of multimode interference devices are presented. We show the design, fabrication, and optical characterization of these components