Empowering Photovoltaics with Smart Light Management Technologies

Schuster, Christian; Crupi, I.; Halme, Janne; Koç, Mehmet Levent; Mendes, Manuel J.; Peters, Ian Marius; Yerci, Selçuk

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-72579-2_112

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 138 publications

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“…They provide substantial antireflection and effective light scattering to strengthen the photocurrent generation in the absorber layer. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Comparatively to the industrially established LT method of random micro-textured surfaces, frontlocated photonic coatings can yield similar (or even superior) photocurrent gains. In addition to the substantial photocurrent gains brought forth by the proposed LT approach, it avoids the harsh texturing processes that deteriorate the electrical performance of conventionally fabricated solar cells via increased charge carriers trapping or recombination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optically‐Boosted Planar IBC Solar Cells with Electrically‐Harmless Photonic Nanocoatings

Santos

Alexandre

Mihailetchi

et al. 2023

Advanced Optical Materials

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Advanced light management via front‐coated photonic nanostructures is a promising strategy to enhance photovoltaic (PV) efficiency through wave‐optical light‐trapping (LT) effects, avoiding the conventional texturing processes that induce the degradation of electrical performance due to increased carrier recombination. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) honeycomb arrays with different geometry are engineered through a highly‐scalable colloidal lithography method on flat crystalline silicon (c‐Si) wafers and tested on standard planar c‐Si interdigitated back‐contact solar cells (pIBCSCs). The photonic‐structured wafers achieve an optical photocurrent of 36.6 mA cm−2, mainly due to a broad anti‐reflection effect from the 693 nm thick nanostructured coatings. In contrast, the pIBCSC test devices reach 14% efficiency with 679 nm thick TiO2 nanostructures, corresponding to a ≈30% efficiency gain relative to uncoated pIBCSCs. In addition, several designed structures show unmatched angular acceptance enhancements in efficiency (up to 63% gain) and photocurrent density (up to 68% gain). The high‐performing (yet electrically harmless) LT scheme, here presented, entails an up‐and‐coming alternative to conventional texturing for c‐Si technological improvement that can be straightforwardly integrated into the established PV industry.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optically‐Boosted Planar IBC Solar Cells with Electrically‐Harmless Photonic Nanocoatings

Santos

Alexandre

Mihailetchi

et al. 2023

Advanced Optical Materials

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Photonic-Enhanced Perovskite Solar Cells: Tailoring Color and Light Capture

Almeida,

Alexandre,

Santos

et al. 2024

ACS Omega

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The current exponential growth of solar electricity technologies toward consumer-oriented applications, as in building-or vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (B/VIPV), is calling for improved solar cells, not only in costeffectiveness, but also with better adaptability and aesthetics. Here, using perovskite solar cells (PSCs) as test bed, we demonstrate an unprecedented photonic method to generate any color on a cell layout, while also increasing PV efficiency. To this end, photonic surface features were designed for PSCs, which filled the dual purpose of light-trapping (LT) and modulation of reflected light interference. A variety of geometries, from simple gratings to complex semispheroids, were optically optimized for two of the most challenging colors, magenta and green, while assuring the generation of their maximum feasible photocurrent. The best results corresponded to a current density of 22.07 mA/cm 2 , obtained for the magenta solar cell with top domes, exhibiting an increase of 6.68%, relative to an optimized planar reference cell. In turn, the same type of geometry was able to generate the leading green cell, with up to 21.40 mA/cm 2 (a relative increase of 3.44%). Additionally, the uniformity of the optical output of the optimal solar cells was tested under a range of incident light angles, between 0 • and 60 • , where the current density suffered relative losses only down to 6.65%.

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Photon shifting and trapping in perovskite solar cells for improved efficiency and stability

Haque,

Alexandre,

Vicente

et al. 2024

Light Sci Appl

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Advanced light management techniques can enhance the sunlight absorption of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). When located at the front, they may act as a UV barrier, which is paramount for protecting the perovskite layer against UV-enabled degradation. Although it was recently shown that photonic structures such as Escher-like patterns could approach the theoretical Lambertian-limit of light trapping, it remains challenging to also implement UV protection properties for these diffractive structures while maintaining broadband absorption gains. Here, we propose a checkerboard (CB) tile pattern with designated UV photon conversion capability. Through a combined optical and electrical modeling approach, this photonic structure can increase photocurrent and power conversion efficiency in ultrathin PSCs by 25.9% and 28.2%, respectively. We further introduce a luminescent down-shifting encapsulant that converts the UV irradiation into Visible photons matching the solar cell absorption spectrum. To this end, experimentally obtained absorption and emission profiles of state-of-the-art down-shifting materials (i.e., lanthanide-based organic-inorganic hybrids) are used to predict potential gains from harnessing the UV energy. We demonstrate that at least 94% of the impinging UV radiation can be effectively converted into the Visible spectral range. Photonic protection from high-energy photons contributes to the market deployment of perovskite solar cell technology, and may become crucial for Space applications under AM0 illumination. By combining light trapping with luminescent downshifting layers, this work unravels a potential photonic solution to overcome UV degradation in PSCs while circumventing optical losses in ultrathin cells, thus improving both performance and stability.

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Empowering Photovoltaics with Smart Light Management Technologies

Cited by 4 publications

References 138 publications

Optically‐Boosted Planar IBC Solar Cells with Electrically‐Harmless Photonic Nanocoatings

Optically‐Boosted Planar IBC Solar Cells with Electrically‐Harmless Photonic Nanocoatings

Photonic-Enhanced Perovskite Solar Cells: Tailoring Color and Light Capture

Photon shifting and trapping in perovskite solar cells for improved efficiency and stability

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