Efficient nanocoax‐based solar cells

Naughton, Michael; Kempa, Krzysztof; Z, Ren; Gao, Yi-Dian; Rybczyński, J.; Argenti, N.; Gao, Wengen; Wang, Y.; Peng, Yifei; Naughton, Jeffrey R.; McMahon, Greg; Paudel, Trilochan; Lan, Yucheng; Burns, Michael J.; Shepard, Allan H.; Clary, M. C.; Ballif, Christophe; Haug, Franz‐Josef; Söderström, T.; Cubero, O.; Eminian, C.

doi:10.1002/pssr.201004154

Cited by 92 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The results show that the cylindrical absorber should be as thin as possible in the radial direction, and only long enough to sufficiently absorb light, while not diminishing performance with increasing dark (saturation) current. We do note that this conclusion, although derived from our calculations, has also been concluded experimentally [4] and through other radial p-n junction device simulations [26,27,30]. Results from Fig.…”

Section: E Generation Currentsupporting

confidence: 88%

Analytical device-physics framework for non-planar solar cells

Kirkpatrick

Burns

Naughton

2015

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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Non-planar solar-cell devices have been promoted as a means to enhance current collection in absorber materials with charge-transport limitations. This work presents an analytical framework for assessing the ultimate performance of non-planar solar-cells based on materials and geometry. Herein, the physics of the p-n junction is analyzed for low-injection conditions, when the junction can be considered spatially separable into quasi-neutral and space-charge regions. For the conventional planar solar cell architecture, previously established one-dimensional expressions governing charge carrier transport are recovered from the framework established herein. Space-charge region recombination statistics are compared for planar and non-planar geometries, showing variations in recombination current produced from the space-charge region. In addition, planar and non-planar solar cell performance are simulated, based on a semi-empirical expression for short-circuit current, detailing variations in charge carrier transport and efficiency as a function of geometry, thereby yielding insights into design criteria for solar cell architectures. For the conditions considered here, the expressions for generation rate and total current are shown to universally govern any solar cell geometry, while recombination within the spacecharge region is shown to be directly dependent on the geometrical orientation of the p-n junction.

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Section: E Generation Currentsupporting

confidence: 88%

Analytical device-physics framework for non-planar solar cells

Kirkpatrick

Burns

Naughton

2015

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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“…With properly engineered photonic nanostructures, sunlight can be trapped within the thin absorbing silicon layers, thereby enhancing light absorption and thus conversion efficiencies. Recently, exciting new strategies for improving light harvesting have gained tremendous interest, including nanopillar-and nanohole-type geometries, [1][2][3][4][5][6] plasmonics and guided modes, [7][8][9][10][11][12] and photonic crystals. [13][14][15] Light scattering at nanotextured interfaces provides a powerful and proven alternative to improve the optical performance of thinfilm silicon devices.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoimprint Lithography for High-Efficiency Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Battaglia¹,

Escarré²,

et al. 2011

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We demonstrate high-efficiency thin-film silicon solar cells with transparent nanotextured front electrodes fabricated via ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography on glass substrates. By replicating the morphology of state-of-the-art nanotextured zinc oxide front electrodes known for their exceptional light trapping properties, conversion efficiencies of up to 12.0% are achieved for micromorph tandem junction cells. Excellent light incoupling results in a remarkable summed short-circuit current density of 25.9 mA/cm 2 for amorphous top cell and microcrystalline bottom cell thicknesses of only 250 and 1100 nm, respectively. As efforts to maximize light harvesting continue, our study validates nanoimprinting as a versatile tool to investigate nanophotonic effects of a large variety of nanostructures directly on device performance.

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“…Nowadays, light scattering at textured interfaces is the most successfully used approach to enhance the J sc [2]; all recent certified efficiency records reported for thin-film silicon solar cells [3] were achieved on a textured surface. In the meantime, other more exotic approaches with high potential using elongated architectures [4][5][6][7][8], photonic crystals [9,10] or plasmonic effects [11][12][13] are under development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental study of flat light-scattering substrates in thin-film silicon solar cells

Söderström

Bugnon

Haug

et al. 2012

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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a b s t r a c tIn this work, a novel type of substrate for thin-film silicon solar cells is studied. The substrate has the advantage of being physically flat to allow the growth of cells with excellent material quality while being optically rough for enhanced light trapping that leads to high short-circuit current density. The substrate is made of rough zinc oxide (ZnO) which is grown on a flat silver reflector. The ZnO is then covered with amorphous silicon and the stack is polished to expose the tips of the pyramidal ZnO surface. The ZnO embedded in the amorphous matrix provides the desirable scattering of light while the surface onto which the cell is deposited is flat and allows for the growth of good-quality material.We present results of $ 4 mm thick microcrystalline silicon solar cells prepared on such substrates with high open-circuit voltages of 520 mV. We also demonstrate a large relative efficiency gain of 10% compared to a state-of-the-art cell which is grown directly on an optimized textured substrate.

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Efficient nanocoax‐based solar cells

Cited by 92 publications

References 24 publications

Analytical device-physics framework for non-planar solar cells

Analytical device-physics framework for non-planar solar cells

Nanoimprint Lithography for High-Efficiency Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Experimental study of flat light-scattering substrates in thin-film silicon solar cells

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