Route towards low cost-high efficiency second generation solar cells: current status and perspectives

Vigil‐Galán, O.; Courel, Maykel; Andrade‐Arvizu, Jacob; Sánchez, Yudania; Espíndola‐Rodríguez, Moisés; Saucedo, Edgardo; Seuret-Jiménez, D.; Titsworth, Matthew

doi:10.1007/s10854-014-2196-4

Cited by 48 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…These semiconductors are described by direct bandgap transitions, high absorption coefficient values higher than 10 4 cm -1 , p-type conductivity and a tailored band-gap in the range of 1.0-1.5 eV as reported elsewhere. [2] All of these properties are main starting points when it comes to apply a material as an absorber to a solar cell. At its beginnings, Kesterite family received a great deal of attention from scientific community reaching a solar cell efficiency promotion from 0.66% to 12.6% in about 16 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Path to Improve Kesterite Solar Cell Efficiency

Courel¹,

Arce‐Plaza²,

Oseguera-Galindo³

et al. 2018

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Kesterite semiconductors such as Cu2ZnSnS4, Cu2ZnSnSe4 and Cu2ZnSn(SSe)4 have received a great deal of attention from scientific community for solar cell applications since they present p-type conductivity, direct band-gap transitions, a relatively high absorption coefficient and a band-gap that can be tailored in the range of 1.0-1.5 eV as a function of Se/S compositional ratio. Besides, these materials are based on abundant and low toxicity elements. In spite of the great effort carried out by the scientific community to promote device performance, Kesterite solar cell efficiency is still limited to values lower than 13%. In this sense, new strategies are required to overcome currently reported values. In this paper, a minireview on the state of the art concerning Kesterite solar cell technology is presented. Different current trends to promote Kesterite solar cell efficiency are presented and discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Path to Improve Kesterite Solar Cell Efficiency

Courel¹,

Arce‐Plaza²,

Oseguera-Galindo³

et al. 2018

Self Cite

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“…2G aims to introduce thin film solar cell such as amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). However, the efficiency of 2G is still significantly low compared to 1G . The third generation (3G) introduces organic materials such as nanotubes, organic dyes, polymers and new materials like quantum dots, tandem with the aim to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the efficiency of 2G is still significantly low compared to 1G. [3] The third generation (3G) introduces organic materials such as nanotubes, organic dyes, polymers and new materials like quantum dots, tandem with the aim to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency. [2] Recently, the research for the fourth generation (4G) also called "Inorganics-Organics" (hybrid) solar cell got started.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid density functional study on the electronic structures and properties of P3HT‐PbS and P3HT‐CdS hybrid interface for photovoltaic applications

Nguyen

Shim

2018

J Comput Chem

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The efficiency of charge transport mainly depends on the interfacial energy level alignment between the conjugated polymer and the inorganic substrate. It provides an accurate understanding, predicting as well as controlling the optimal power conversion efficiency of various type of hybrid photovoltaic systems. In this article, we use hybrid functional (HSE06) to study the electronic structures and properties at the interface of poly(3‐hexylthiophene)(P3HT)/CdS and P3HT/PbS for solar cell applications. We found that the dangling bonds at the inorganic surface introduce in‐gap states and greatly reduce the device performance. We used pseudo‐hydrogen atoms as the passivation agent to remove the dangling bonds and eliminate the in‐gap states to construct the energy alignment at the hybrid interface. The calculated interfacial density of states reveal a better performance in P3HT/CdS, compared to P3HT/PbS. P3HT/CdS possesses a LUMOP3HT/CBMCdS and HOMOP3HT/VBMCdS energy offset large enough for sufficient exciton separation across the interface and prevents charge recombination. In contrast, the reason for low power conversion efficiency in P3HT/PbS lies on its HOMOP3HT/VBMPbS offset which is too small to break the exciton binding energy for charge separation. Moreover, we reported the dependency of the energy level alignment and open circuit voltage on the interfacial molecular orientations. Our DFT calculation can be used to predict candidate materials for the development of efficiency optoelectronic devices. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Although a CZTS-based solar cell efficiency of 8.4% [1] was reached, this number is still far behind the 20.8% [2] value that was achieved by analogous Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se) 2 (CIGSSe) solar cells. Among the device performance parameters, the general consensus is that low open circuit voltage (V oc ) in kesterite-based solar cells is the main limiting factor of this technology for reaching high solar cell efficiency [3][4][5][6][7]. The so-called V oc deficit has been mainly attributed to aspects related to the material properties, such as bulk defects, secondary phases formation and to interface optimization; however, a more detailed study related to the influence of the device loss mechanisms on the solar cell electrical parameters, including the V oc has not been carried out.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%