Efficient Thin-Film Polycrystalline-Silicon Solar Cells Based on Aluminium-Induced Crystallization

2007 ◽  
Vol 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Gordon ◽  
Lode Carnel ◽  
Dries Van Gestel ◽  
Guy Beaucarne ◽  
Jef Poortmans
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Cell Process ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
Si Solar Cell ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Induced Crystallization

AbstractEfficient thin-film polycrystalline-silicon (pc-Si) solar cells on inexpensive substrates could lower the price of photovoltaic electricity substantially. At the MRS conference in 2006, we presented a pc-Si solar cell with an efficiency of 5.9% that had an absorber layer made by aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon followed by high-temperature epitaxial thickening. The efficiency of this cell was mainly limited by the current density. To obtain higher efficiencies, we therefore need to implement an effective light trapping scheme in our pc-Si solar cell process. In this work, we describe how we recently enhanced the current density and efficiency of our cells. We achieved a cell efficiency of 8.0% for pc-Si cells in substrate configuration. Our cell process is based on pc-Si layers made by AIC and thermal CVD on smoothened alumina substrates. The cells are in substrate configuration with deposited a-Si heterojunction emitters and interdigitated top contacts. The front surface of the cells is plasma textured which leads to an increase in current density. The current density is further enhanced by minimizing the back surface field thickness of the cells to reduce the light loss in this layer. Our present pc-Si solar cell efficiency together with the fast progression that we have made over the last few years indicate the large potential of pc-Si solar cells based on the AIC seed layer approach.

scholarly journals Water-soluble ZnSe/ZnS:Mn/ZnS quantum dots convert UV to visible light for improved Si solar cell efficiency

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisaaki Nishimura ◽  
Takaya Maekawa ◽  
Kazushi Enomoto ◽  
Naoteru Shigekawa ◽  
Tomomi Takagi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Dots ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Visible Light ◽  
Solar Spectrum ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Solar Cell Efficiency ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
Si Solar Cell ◽  
Si Solar Cells

The sensitivity of Si solar cells to the UV portion of the solar spectrum is low, and must be increased to further improve their efficiencies.

Thin-film polycrystalline-silicon solar cells on high-temperature glass based on aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

2006 ◽  
Vol 910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dries Van Gestel ◽  
Ivan Gordon ◽  
Lode Carnel ◽  
Linda R. Pinckney ◽  
Alexandre Mayolet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Seed Layers ◽  
Aluminum Induced Crystallization

AbstractEfficient thin-film polycrystalline-silicon (pc-Si) solar cells on foreign substrates could lower the price of photovoltaic electricity. Aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon followed by epitaxial thickening at high temperatures seems a good way to obtain efficient pc-Si solar cells. Due to its transparency and low cost, glass is well suited as substrate for pc-Si cells. However, most glass substrates do not withstand temperatures around 1000°C that are needed for high-temperature epitaxial growth. In this paper we investigate the use of experimental transparent glass-ceramics with high strain-point temperatures as substrates for pc-Si solar cells. AIC seed layers made on these substrates showed in-plane grain sizes up to 16 μm. Columnar growth was observed on these seed layers during high-temperature epitaxy. First pc-Si solar cells made on glass-ceramic substrates in substrate configuration showed efficiencies up to 4.5%, fill factors up to 75% and open-circuit voltage (Voc) values up to 536 mV. This is the highest Voc reported for pc-Si solar cells on glass and the best cell efficiency reported for cells made by AIC on glass.

scholarly journals The Viability of Organic Dyes in Luminescent Down-Shifting Layers for the Enhancement of Si Solar Cell Efficiency

2020 ◽  
Vol 995 ◽  
pp. 71-76
Author(s):  
Aaron Glenn ◽  
Conor Mc Loughlin ◽  
Hind Ahmed ◽  
Hoda Akbari ◽  
Subhash Chandra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Organic Dyes ◽  
Polyvinyl Butyral ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Silicon Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell Efficiency ◽  
Cell Efficiency ◽  
Si Solar Cell ◽  
Si Solar Cells

The main energy losses in solar cells are related to spectral losses where high energy photons are not used efficiently, and energy is lost via thermalization which reduces the solar cell’s overall efficiency. A way to tackle this is to introduce a luminescent down-shifting layer (LDS) to convert these high energy photons into a lower energy bracket helping the solar cell to absorb them and thus generating a greater power output. In this paper, lumogen dye Violet 570 has been used as LDS coated films of 10μm and 60μm placed on top of Si solar cells. The dye was incorporated into polymer films of Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) and Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) after which they were tested for their absorption, transmission and emission properties. Once optimised layers had been determined, they were deposited directly onto silicon solar cells and the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the Si solar cells were measured with and without the LDS layers. The resulting graphs have shown an increase of up to 2.9% in the overall EQE efficiency after the lumogen films had been applied.

Processing and Characterization of Efficient Thin-Film Polycrystalline-Silicon Solar Cells

2008 ◽  
Vol 1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Gordon ◽  
Dries Van Gestel ◽  
Yu Qiu ◽  
Srisaran Venkatachalam ◽  
Guy Beaucarne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Glass Ceramic ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Glass Ceramics ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Ceramic Substrates ◽  
Si Solar Cells

AbstractEfficient thin-film polycrystalline-silicon (pc-Si) solar cells on inexpensive substrates could substantially lower the price of photovoltaic electricity. We recently showed that good solar cells can be made from pc-Si obtained by epitaxial thickening using thermal CVD of a seed layer made by aluminium-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon. We already reported cells in substrate configuration with energy conversion efficiencies up to 8.0% for layers on ceramic alumina substrates. However, much higher efficiencies (η > 10%) are needed for this type of pc-Si solar cells to become cost-effective. To achieve these higher efficiencies, cells will probably have to be made in a superstrate configuration on transparent substrates and advanced light trapping will need to be applied. In this paper we report on our recent progress with pc-Si solar cells made on transparent glass-ceramic substrates.So far, our best pc-Si solar cells in substrate configuration on glass-ceramics showed an efficiency of 6.4%. By using plasma texturing to lower the front side reflection, we increased the current density of our cells by roughly 1 mA cm-2. The Jsc is much lower for cells on glass-ceramic than for cells on alumina. This is the result of the better diffuse back reflectance of alumina compared to glass. The Voc and fill factor are comparable for cells on both substrates.To make pc-Si solar cells on glass in superstrate configuration, we will use a-Si/c-Si rear junction emitters. As a first test of the feasibility of this approach, we measured the illuminated IV parameters of pc-Si cells made for the substrate configuration in superstrate configuration. In superstrate configuration, the current density of the cells is much lower than in substrate configuration due to the non-optimized cell design for superstrate illumination. The Voc is slightly smaller in superstrate configuration due to the lower current density.These results indicate that the glass-ceramic substrates are fully compatible to our poly-Si solar cell process. Furthermore, rear-junction poly-Si cells in superstrate configuration should lead to good cell results once the absorber layer thickness is optimized to the diffusion length of the material and light trapping features adapted to the superstrate configuration are applied.

scholarly journals CdTe-Based Thin Film Solar Cells: Past, Present and Future

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Alessandro Romeo ◽  
Elisa Artegiani
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Short Circuit Current Density ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Solar Cell Efficiency ◽  
Cell Efficiency

CdTe is a very robust and chemically stable material and for this reason its related solar cell thin film photovoltaic technology is now the only thin film technology in the first 10 top producers in the world. CdTe has an optimum band gap for the Schockley-Queisser limit and could deliver very high efficiencies as single junction device of more than 32%, with an open circuit voltage of 1 V and a short circuit current density exceeding 30 mA/cm2. CdTe solar cells were introduced at the beginning of the 70s and they have been studied and implemented particularly in the last 30 years. The strong improvement in efficiency in the last 5 years was obtained by a new redesign of the CdTe solar cell device reaching a single solar cell efficiency of 22.1% and a module efficiency of 19%. In this paper we describe the fabrication process following the history of the solar cell as it was developed in the early years up to the latest development and changes. Moreover the paper also presents future possible alternative absorbers and discusses the only apparently controversial environmental impacts of this fantastic technology.

Thin-Film Polycrystalline-Silicon Solar Cells on Ceramic Substrates Made by Aluminum-Induced Crystallization and Thermal CVD

2006 ◽  
Vol 910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Gordon ◽  
Dries Van Gestel ◽  
Lode Carnel ◽  
Kris Van Nieuwenhuysen ◽  
Guy Beaucarne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Substrate Roughness ◽  
Ceramic Substrates ◽  
Thermal Cvd ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Thin Polycrystalline ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Aluminum Induced Crystallization

AbstractA considerable cost reduction could be achieved in photovoltaics if efficient solar cells could be made from thin polycrystalline-silicon (pc-Si) layers. Aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon followed by epitaxial thickening is an effective way to obtain large-grained pc-Si layers with excellent properties for solar cells. To obtain efficient solar cells, the electronic quality of the pc-Si material obtained by AIC has to be optimized and the cell design has to be adapted to the material. In this paper, we report on pc-Si solar cells made by AIC in combination with thermal CVD on ceramic alumina substrates. We made pc-Si solar cells on alumina substrates that showed Voc values up to 533 mV and efficiencies up to 5.9%. This is the highest efficiency ever achieved with pc-Si solar cells on ceramic substrates where no (re)melting of silicon was used. We demonstrate that the quality of the pc-Si material can be improved drastically by reducing the substrate roughness using spin-on oxides. We further show that a-Si/c-Si heterojunctions lead to much higher Voc values than diffused homojunctions. A cell concept that incorporates spin-on oxides and heterojunction emitters is therefore best suited to obtain efficient pc-Si solar cells on alumina substrates.

Thin‐film solar cells exceeding 22% solar cell efficiency: An overview on CdTe-, Cu(In,Ga)Se2-, and perovskite-based materials

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 041602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Powalla ◽  
Stefan Paetel ◽  
Erik Ahlswede ◽  
Roland Wuerz ◽  
Cordula D. Wessendorf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Thin Film Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell Efficiency ◽  
Cell Efficiency

scholarly journals Analytical Study of the Electrical Output Characteristics of c-Si Solar Cells by Cut and Shading Phenomena

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong Lim ◽  
Woo Shin ◽  
Hyemi Hwang ◽  
Young-Chul Ju ◽  
Suk Ko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Incident Light ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Si Solar Cell ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Electrical Output

Cut solar cells have received considerable attention recently as they can reduce electrical output degradation when the c-Si solar cells (crystalline-silicon solar cells) are shaded. Cut c-Si solar cells have a lower short-circuit current than normal solar cells and the decrease in short-circuit currents is similar to the shading effect of c-Si solar cells. However, the results of this study’s experiment show that the shadow effect of a c-Si solar cell reduces the V o c (open circuit voltage) in the c-Si solar cell but the V o c does not change when the c-Si solar cell is cut because the amount of incident light does not change. In this paper, the limitations of the electrical power analysis of the cut solar cells were identified when only photo current was considered and the analysis of the electric output of the cut c-Si solar cells was interpreted with a method different from that used in previous analyses. Electrical output was measured when the shaded and cut rates of c-Si solar cells were increased from 0% to 25, 50 and 75%, and a new theoretical model was compared with the experimental results using MATLAB.

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