Research and development in CdS photovoltaic film cells Third quarterly progress report, 1 Dec. 1962 - 28 Feb. 1963

Large cadmium sulfide thin film photovoltaic cell

Study of thin film large area photovoltaic solar energy converter First quarterly report, 25 Oct. 1965 - 24 Jan. 1966

Cadmium sulfide thin film photovoltaic cell for large area solar energy converte

Development of cadmium sulfide thin film photovoltaic cells third quarterly report, apr. 15 - jul. 14, 1965

Cadmium sulfide thin film photovoltaic cells - cadmium sulfide film evaporation, cell testing, improvement, and stability, and plastic and metal substrate cell

Solar cell power scanner

System locates high- and low-output regions in cadmium sulfide thin film photovoltaic cells. High resolution photograph shows conversion efficiency of each scanned area. X-Y recorder fed by amplified signal from solar cell also produces power contour map. Photo and map reveal high- and low-conversion-efficiency regions

First principles study of Bi dopen CdTe thin film solar cells: electronic and optical properties

Nowadays, efficiency improvement of solar cells is one of the most important issues in photovoltaic systems and CdTe is one of the most promising thin film photovoltaic materials we can found. CdTe reported efficiencies in solar energy conversion have been as good as that found in polycrystalline Si thin film cell [1], besides CdTe can be easily produced at industrial scale

Stability diagnostics for thin-film photovoltaic modules

Photovoltaic (PV) modules create electricity from solar radiation by converting photon energy to electrical potential energy. The use of photovoltaic electricity is growing rapidly particularly in building-integrated, grid-connected applications. The useful lifetime of PV modules is an important determinant of the competitiveness of PV electricity. Lifetime improvement and prediction requires detailed information on degradation mechanisms in the field and in accelerated aging tests. In this thesis, new methods for studying and predicting the stability of thin-film PV modules have been developed. Stability is a greater challenge for thin-film devices than for established PV technologies, and good stability diagnostics are therefore crucial for improvements in thin-film device lifetime. The diagnostics developed in this thesis focused on two areas of lifetime research. The first was the study of water transport in photovoltaic module encapsulants. It was shown that a TiO2 film of micrometer thickness can be used as a sensor structure to measure water transport in the encapsulant with high accuracy without affecting the transport process. The sensor concept was applied in a study of absorption and desorption of water in ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) films laminated between two glass sheets. The rate of desorption at a temperature difference of 25°C between the sample and the surroundings was 16 times higher than the rate of absorption at ambient temperature. This result indicates that unframed, EVA-encapsulated modules are likely to dry out in sunny conditions. The degradation of thin-film modules in outdoor operation was the second area of interest in this thesis. A de-encapsulation method for characterizing field degradation in thin-film modules was presented and applied to CdTe modules. It was observed that small-area sampling is especially well suited for characterizing module fill factor degradation. A data filtering methodology was also developed to improve the accuracy of data analysis in field tests. The method was applied to CIGS modules and was found to be especially useful in the analysis of low-irradiance data and current parameters. Additionally, thermal modeling of building integrated a-Si modules was used to predict thermal stress in different European locations. The diagnostics developed in this thesis open up possibilities for improving thin-film module lifetime by enabling precise testing of the moisture-protection properties of encapsulants and by providing methods for identifying degradation mechanisms in field-tested modules.reviewe

Analyzing Data of Thin-Film Photovoltaic Cells

The purpose of this study is to determine the basic device characteristics from the Current-Voltage curve of perovskite photovoltaic cells. Martin Green’s “Solar cell efficiency tables (Version 45)” highlighted the accomplishments in photovoltaic cell research for the year 2015. One notable achievement was done by KRICT using perovskites to achieve a 20.1% efficiency. According to Wall Street Journal article “Perovskite Offers Shot at Cheaper Solar Energy”, Ulicia Wang (2014) reports that perovskites have “achieved a jump in efficiency to 20% from around 10% just two years ago.

Reactively sputtered thin film photovoltaic devices

The feasibility of a reactively sputtered thin film CdS - Cu2S solar cell is proven. Identification of the reactively sputtered Cu2S film is made by X-ray diffractometer and spectro-transmission measurements. Because of its simplicity, economical use of material, and high yield, the reactive sputtering process promises to be a low cost method for producing CdS - Cu2S solar cells