Evaluation of the efficiency potential of intermediate band solar cells based on thin-film chalcopyrite materials

Abstract

This paper discusses the potential of the intermediate band solar cell ͑IBSC͒ concept to improve the efficiency of thin-film chalcopyrite solar cells. The results show that solar cells based on CuGaS 2 , with a radiative limiting efficiency of 46.7%, exhibit the highest potential. A simple method for the identification of transition elements that when incorporated in CuGaS 2 could possibly introduce an intermediate band is also described. The IBSC concept is also applied under the assumptions that thin-film solar cells are not to be operated under concentrated light and that a non-negligible contribution of nonradiative recombination exists.

The Intermediate Band Solar Cell: Progress Toward the Realization of an Attractive Concept

“…The red circle is associated with transitions from the IB to the CB, the green one to transitions from the VB to the IB, and the blue one to transitions from the VB to the CB. c) Detailed balance efficiency prediction at one sun for IB solar cells based on CuGaS2 with some transition elements inserted (adapted with permission from [74], copyright 2008, AIP). materials are expected to be very compatible with thin-film cell technology.…”

Voltage recovery in intermediate band solar cells

“…These IB materials can be divided into three main families: QD-based materials [10,17], bulk semiconductors [18] (which, in turn, are subdivided into thiospinels [19], highly mismatched semiconductor alloys [20,21] thin-film semiconductors [22] and others) and molecular-based materials [23].…”

Two-layer Hall effect model for intermediate band Ti-implanted silicon

“…5 In principle, Si would not be the most suitable semiconductor to be used as host semiconductor to build IB solar cells, due to its relatively low bandgap value, as it has been recently reported by some of us, 6 because the detailed balance limiting the efficiency of a IB solar cell with a bandgap value below 1.14 eV is very close than that of the conventional single junction cell counterpart. However, when no-idealities such as nonradiative recombination are taken into account, as pointed out in Ref.…”

“…However, when no-idealities such as nonradiative recombination are taken into account, as pointed out in Ref. 6, there should be room for improvement by introducing an IB material in practical devices. Moreover, some authors point out that the potential efficiency for IB Si solar cell would be very high.…”