CuInSe2 nanotube arrays for efficient solar energy conversion

AbstractHighly uniform and vertically aligned p-type CuInSe2 (CISe) nanotube arrays were fabricated through a unique protocol, incorporating confined electrodeposition on lithographically patterned nanoelectrodes. This protocol can be readily adapted to fabricate nanotube arrays of other photoabsorber and functional materials with precisely controllable design parameters. Ternary CISe nanotube arrays were electrodeposited congruently from a single electrolytic bath and the resulting nanotube arrays were studied through powder X-ray diffraction as well as elemental analysis which revealed compositional purity. Detailed photoelectrochemical (PEC) characterizations in a liquid junction cell were also carried out to investigate the photoconversion efficiency. It was observed that the tubular geometry had a strong influence on the photocurrent response and a 29.9% improvement of the photoconversion efficiency was observed with the nanotube array compared to a thin film geometry fabricated by the same process. More interestingly such enhancement in photoconversion efficiency was obtained when the electrode coverage with the nanotube arrays as photoactive material was only a fraction (~10%) of that for the thin film device. Apart from enhancement in photoconversion efficiency, this versatile technique provides ample opportunities to study novel photovoltaic materials and device design architectures where structural parameters play a key role such as resonant light trapping.

Download Full-text

Increased Absorption with Al Nanoparticle at Front Surface of Thin Film Silicon Solar Cell

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12132602 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (13) ◽

pp. 2602 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Rokeya Jahan Mukti ◽

Md Rabiul Hossain ◽

Ariful Islam ◽

Saad Mekhilef ◽

Ben Horan

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Solar Cell ◽

Silicon Solar Cell ◽

Structural Parameters ◽

Light Trapping ◽

Fdtd Method ◽

Front Surface ◽

Trapping Efficiency ◽

Nanoparticle Arrays ◽

Thin Film Silicon

This article presents an effective structural design arrangement for light trapping in the front surface of a thin film silicon solar cell (TFSC). Front surface light trapping rate is significantly enhanced here by incorporating the Aluminium (Al) nanoparticle arrays into silicon nitride anti-reflection layer. The light trapping capability of these arrays is extensively analyzed via Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method considering the wavelength ranging from 400 to 1100 nm. The outcome indicates that the structural parameters associated with the aluminium nanoparticle arrays like particle radii and separations between adjacent particles, play vital roles in designing the solar cell to achieve better light trapping efficiency. A detailed comparative analysis has justified the effectiveness of this approach while contrasting the results found with commonly used silver nanoparticle arrays at the front surface of the cell. Because of the surface plasmon excitation, lower light reflectance, and significant near field enhancement, aluminium nanoparticle arrays offer broadband light absorption by the cell.

Download Full-text

Optimal Design and Photoelectric Performance Study of Micro-lens Light Trapping Structure for CIGS Thin Film Solar Cell in BIPV

Renewable Energy ◽

10.1016/j.renene.2021.06.036 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Li Zhu ◽

Jiqiang Zhang ◽

Di Wang ◽

Ruohong Wang ◽

Yong Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Solar Cell ◽

Optimal Design ◽

Thin Film Solar Cell ◽

Light Trapping ◽

Performance Study ◽

Cigs Thin Film ◽

Photoelectric Performance ◽

Micro Lens

Download Full-text

Solid State NMR Spectroscopy a Valuable Technique for Structural Insights of Advanced Thin Film Materials: A Review

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11061494 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1494

Author(s):

Mustapha El Hariri El Nokab ◽

Khaled O. Sebakhy

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Thin Films ◽

Solid State ◽

Solid State Nmr ◽

Pulse Sequences ◽

3D Structure ◽

Spectroscopic Techniques ◽

Film Research ◽

Versatile Technique ◽

Work Done

Solid-state NMR has proven to be a versatile technique for studying the chemical structure, 3D structure and dynamics of all sorts of chemical compounds. In nanotechnology and particularly in thin films, the study of chemical modification, molecular packing, end chain motion, distance determination and solvent-matrix interactions is essential for controlling the final product properties and applications. Despite its atomic-level research capabilities and recent technical advancements, solid-state NMR is still lacking behind other spectroscopic techniques in the field of thin films due to the underestimation of NMR capabilities, availability, great variety of nuclei and pulse sequences, lack of sensitivity for quadrupole nuclei and time-consuming experiments. This article will comprehensively and critically review the work done by solid-state NMR on different types of thin films and the most advanced NMR strategies, which are beyond conventional, and the hardware design used to overcome the technical issues in thin-film research.

Download Full-text

Plasmon-Enhanced Sunlight Harvesting in Thin-Film Solar Cell by Randomly Distributed Nanoparticle Array

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14061380 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (6) ◽

pp. 1380

Author(s):

Marwa M. Tharwat ◽

Ashwag Almalki ◽

Amr M. Mahros

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Solar Cell ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Structural Parameters ◽

Visible Region ◽

Nanoparticle Array ◽

Solar Energy Harvesting ◽

Infra Red ◽

Crucial Parameter

In this paper, a randomly distributed plasmonic aluminum nanoparticle array is introduced on the top surface of conventional GaAs thin-film solar cells to improve sunlight harvesting. The performance of such photovoltaic structures is determined through monitoring the modification of its absorbance due to changing its structural parameters. A single Al nanoparticle array is integrated over the antireflective layer to boost the absorption spectra in both visible and near-infra-red regimes. Furthermore, the planar density of the plasmonic layer is presented as a crucial parameter in studying and investigating the performance of the solar cells. Then, we have introduced a double Al nanoparticle array as an imperfection from the regular uniform single array as it has different size particles and various spatial distributions. The comparison of performances was established using the enhancement percentage in the absorption. The findings illustrate that the structural parameters of the reported solar cell, especially the planar density of the plasmonic layer, have significant impacts on tuning solar energy harvesting. Additionally, increasing the plasmonic planar density enhances the absorption in the visible region. On the other hand, the absorption in the near-infrared regime becomes worse, and vice versa.

Download Full-text

Light Trapping in Thin Film Solar Cells using Continuous Metasurfaces

2020 28th Iranian Conference on Electrical Engineering (ICEE) ◽

10.1109/icee50131.2020.9260775 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mohammad Ali Shameli ◽

Leila Yousefi

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Light Trapping ◽

Thin Film Solar Cells

Download Full-text

Synthesis, Crystallography, Microstructure, Crystal Defects, Optical and Optoelectronic Properties of ZnO:CeO2 Mixed Oxide Thin Films

Photonics ◽

10.3390/photonics7040112 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 112

Author(s):

Qais M. Al-Bataineh ◽

Mahmoud Telfah ◽

Ahmad A. Ahmad ◽

Ahmad M. Alsaad ◽

Issam A. Qattan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Thin Films ◽

Refractive Index ◽

Mixed Oxide ◽

Visible Region ◽

Functional Materials ◽

Crystal Defects ◽

Optoelectronic Properties ◽

Oxide Thin Films ◽

Pure Ceo2

We report the synthesis and characterization of pure ZnO, pure CeO2, and ZnO:CeO2 mixed oxide thin films dip-coated on glass substrates using a sol-gel technique. The structural properties of as-prepared thin film are investigated using the XRD technique. In particular, pure ZnO thin film is found to exhibit a hexagonal structure, while pure CeO2 thin film is found to exhibit a fluorite cubic structure. The diffraction patterns also show the formation of mixed oxide materials containing well-dispersed phases of semi-crystalline nature from both constituent oxides. Furthermore, optical properties of thin films are investigated by performing UV–Vis spectrophotometer measurements. In the visible region, transmittance of all investigated thin films attains values as high as 85%. Moreover, refractive index of pure ZnO film was found to exhibit values ranging between 1.57 and 1.85 while for CeO2 thin film, it exhibits values ranging between 1.73 and 2.25 as the wavelength of incident light decreases from 700 nm to 400 nm. Remarkably, refractive index of ZnO:CeO2 mixed oxide-thin films are tuned by controlling the concentration of CeO2 properly. Mixed oxide-thin films of controllable refractive indices constitute an important class of smart functional materials. We have also investigated the optoelectronic and dispersion properties of ZnO:CeO2 mixed oxide-thin films by employing well-established classical models. The melodramatic boost of optical and optoelectronic properties of ZnO:CeO2 mixed oxide thin films establish a strong ground to modify these properties in a skillful manner enabling their use as key potential candidates for the fabrication of scaled optoelectronic devices and thin film transistors.

Download Full-text