Impact of Amorphous and Crystalline Tungsten Trioxide (WO3) Thin Films as an Antireflection Material for Silicon (c-Si) Solar Cells

Maqsood, Sameen; Ali, Khuram; Zohaib, Ali; Iqbal, Iqra

doi:10.1007/s11664-022-09939-3

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…As shown in Figure 1 a, metals possess higher values of k from the VIS to the NIR range compared to the other electrochromic materials. For example, oxides commonly used for electrochromic applications, like WO 3 , have an effectively zero k value in their intrinsic state [ 19 , 20 ]. While it could have some extent value with Li intercalation, it is yet to be small compared to the metals [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refractive Index Modulation for Metal Electrodeposition-Based Active Smart Window Applications

Kim,

Kang,

Moon

2024

Micromachines

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One of the remarkable choices for active smart window technology is adopting a metal active layer via reversible metal electrodeposition (RME). As the metal layer efficiently blocks the solar energy gain, even a hundred-nanometer-thick scale, RME-based smart window has great attention. Recent developments are mainly focused on the various cases of electrolyte components and composition meeting technological standards. As metal nanostructures formed through the RME process involve plasmonic phenomena, advanced analysis, including plasmonic optics, which is beyond Beer–Lambert’s law, should be considered. However, as there is a lack of debates on the plasmonic optics applied to RME smart window technology, as research is mainly conducted through an exhaustive process. In this paper, in order to provide insight into the RME-based smart window development and alleviate the unclear part of plasmonic optics applied to the field, finite-difference time-domain electromagnetic simulations are conducted. In total, two extremely low-quality (Cr) and high-quality (Mg) plasmonic materials based on a nanoparticle array are considered as a metal medium. In addition, optical effects caused by the metal active layer, electrolyte, and nanoparticle embedment are investigated in detail. Overall simulations suggest that the effective refractive index is a decisive factor in the performance of RME-based smart windows.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refractive Index Modulation for Metal Electrodeposition-Based Active Smart Window Applications

Kim,

Kang,

Moon

2024

Micromachines

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“…The results of our study can help in the design of optimized GaAs-based photovoltaic devices by utilizing the combined effect of ARC and the plasmonic effect of MNPs. 66 25.3 nanowire + Ag/PEDOT:PSS/Si SC 66 26.1 Al NP on top/SiO 2 /GaAs SC 14 GaAs = 500 nm 21.94 radius = 40 nm distance = 90 nm embedded Al NP/SiO 2 /GaAs SC 14 GaAs = 500 nm 24.98 radius = 45 nm distance = 50 nm Au NPs/ITO/InP ultrathin SC 24 diameter = 50 nm 30.3 80.1 period = 100 nm InP thickness = 280 nm PEDOT:PSS/GaAs 7 PEDOT:PSS = 90 nm 26.66 GaAs = 1 μm Au on front surface of a-Si SC 67 Au radius = 40 nm 15.30 Si = 100 nm Al placed over GaAs SC 68 Al…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…23 Au MNPs located on the top surface of ITO-coated InP thin-film SC exhibit a PCE of 22.3%, which is almost 3% higher than that of SC without MNPs. 24 Hence, it is evident from the above discussion that incorporating MNPs in Si and III−V material-based thin-film SCs results in substantial absorption enhancement due to plasmonic effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…A single-layer ARC of amorphous and crystalline tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) of thickness 70.7 nm used in crystalline Si SCs resulted in an efficiency of 19.35%, higher than the conventional ARCs. This improved photovoltaic performance is due to reduced reflection and recombination at the interfacial layers . Theoretical simulations reveal that different polymer materials, such as poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), used as ARCs over Si SCs resulted in efficiency enhancement by ∼5%, with the highest PCE of ∼20.7% achieved with PC .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Systematic Investigation of the Optical Characteristics of GaAs Solar Cells with Antireflection Coatings and Metallic Nanoparticles Using Finite Element Analysis

Singh,

Samajdar,

Dutta

2024

ACS Appl. Electron. Mater.

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For energy-efficient thin-film solar cells, photovoltaic researchers are investigating alternative strategies like metallic nanostructures supporting plasmon resonance and ultrathin coatings of antireflective materials to minimize optical absorption loss. To reduce the reflection losses from the surface of the solar cells (SCs), optimizing the dimensions of the metallic nanostructures and antireflection coating (ARC) is essential. A systematic step-by-step approach is used to gain scientific insights into improving the planar GaAs SC performance. In this article, device performance optimization of a solar cell was studied with five distinct architectures, namely, planar GaAs, GaAs with metal nanoparticle (MNP) on top, GaAs coated with ARC, GaAs with MNP over ARC, and GaAs with MNP embedded in ARC using the finite element method. To analyze the effect of ARC thickness and MNP size on optical characteristics, the optical short-circuit current density (J opt) is computed using absorptance data as the performance parameter. We used various metals on the GaAs/Al architecture to choose MNP materials, and titanium (Ti) nanoparticles were chosen because they have the maximum Jopt. For ARC, we have chosen three oxides, Ta2O5, MoO3, and ZnO, and two polymeric materials, P3HT and PEDOT:PSS. We have compared the optical performance of the different optimized architectures using J opt, absorption spectra, electric field, and photogeneration rate. This exhaustive analysis shows that Ti MNPs with a diameter of 180 nm and P3HT ARC with an 80 nm thickness, placed over GaAs planar structure, deliver maximum J opt values of 29.87 and 27.67 mA/cm2, respectively. Further, to understand the dual impact of plasmons and ARC, we simultaneously varied the MNP size and the ARC thickness and found that GaAs planar structure coated with 10 nm thick MoO3 and Ti plasmon with diameter of 160 nm has the best J opt of 29.66 mA/cm2. Secondly, we embedded Ti plasmons of 60, 120, and 180 nm diameters into the ARC film and found that MNPs enhance photocurrent. It is observed that Ti MNPs with an optimized diameter of 180 nm embedded in a 40 nm thick MoO3 ARC and placed directly over the GaAs structure deliver the highest J opt of 30.45 mA/cm2. This comprehensive analysis can help researchers to improve the GaAs SC efficiency using the combined effect of geometrically optimized ARCs and MNPs.

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Selection of materials and optimization of antireflection coatings for silicon solar cells using Sentaurus TCAD

Singh

Ghosh

Agarwal

2023

J Mater Sci: Mater Electron

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Impact of Amorphous and Crystalline Tungsten Trioxide (WO3) Thin Films as an Antireflection Material for Silicon (c-Si) Solar Cells

Cited by 6 publications

References 58 publications

Refractive Index Modulation for Metal Electrodeposition-Based Active Smart Window Applications

Refractive Index Modulation for Metal Electrodeposition-Based Active Smart Window Applications

Systematic Investigation of the Optical Characteristics of GaAs Solar Cells with Antireflection Coatings and Metallic Nanoparticles Using Finite Element Analysis

Selection of materials and optimization of antireflection coatings for silicon solar cells using Sentaurus TCAD

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