scholarly journals Limiting Efficiencies of Intermediate Band Solar Cells in Tandem Configuration

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 6021
Author(s):  
Jongwon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Detailed Balance ◽  
Spectrum Management ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Optimal Performance ◽  
Tandem Solar Cells ◽  
Intermediate Band ◽  
Intermediate Band Solar Cells ◽  
The Impact

It is necessary to devise innovative techniques to design new high-performance tandem solar cells to meet increasing energy needs. In this study, the theoretical efficiency of intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) was increased by integrating them with tandem solar cells to produce intermediate band tandem solar cells (IBTSCs). The spectral splitting analysis indicated that the efficient absorption of sub-photon energies was necessary to ensure optimal performance of the IBSCs at each junction of the IBTSC. For this calculation, we assumed all absorption of sub-photon energies are unity. In addition, we applied the variation of absorptivity to the detailed balance limit of a double-junction (DJ) IBTSC. Furthermore, we included the impact of series and shunt resistances of a typical DJ IBTSC to investigate the variations in electrical parameters (short circuit current, open circuit voltage). The performance efficiency also depended on the illumination concentration due to the charge carrier transitions at each junction. We analyzed this aspect to determine the overall performance of the IBTSCs. We replaced the IBSC in the bottom junction with a single-junction solar cell to explore the potential of diverse tandem configurations. DJ IBTSCs achieved a limiting efficiency comparable to that of six-junction solar cells, despite the lower number of junctions. It was challenging for these cells to exhibit optimal performance because of the inefficient spectrum management in the bottom junction. It was concluded that full illumination concentration was required to achieve optimal performance in both junctions of the IBTSC.

scholarly journals Effect of absorber layer bandgap of CIGS-based solar cell with (CdS/ZnS) buffer layer

2021 ◽  
Vol 2128 (1) ◽  
pp. 012009
Author(s):  
Hassan Ismail Abdalmageed ◽  
Mostafa Fedawy ◽  
Moustafa H. Aly
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Buffer Layer ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Cadmium Sulphide ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Zinc Sulphide ◽  
Absorber Layer ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This article uses computational models to evaluate the potential of copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells. The use of cadmium sulphide (CdS) renders the solar cell environmentally hazardous. A zinc sulphide (ZnS) that is non-toxic and has a large bandgap is studied as a potential replacement for cadmium sulphide in CIGS-based solar cells. The present research focuses on the impact of the CIGS-based solar cell bandgap absorber layer by increasing the absorber layer thickness (0.1-2 μm) using the solar cell simulator simulation tool SCAPS. The basic simulation produces 18.2 % efficiency with a CdS buffer layer, which is 9.95% better than the previously published work. The Simulated efficiency is 22.16% for the CIGS solar cell using ZnS. The simulation of solar cell characteristics of how the thickness of the absorber layer, the gallium grading (efficiency ranges up to 22.25 %) is demonstrated, showing the effect of buffer layer (ZnS) on the current of short-circuit density (JSC), open-circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), and efficiency (η) of the solar cell.

scholarly journals The Effects of Interdot Spacing and Dot Size on the Performance of InGaAs/GaAs QDIBSC

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayeda Anika Amin ◽  
Md. Tanvir Hasan ◽  
Muhammad Shaffatul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Open Circuit Voltage ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Short Circuit Current Density ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Charge Carriers ◽  
Electron Wave ◽  
Intermediate Band ◽  
Intermediate Band Solar Cells ◽  
Device Efficiency

In0.53Ga0.47As/GaAs-based quantum dot intermediate band solar cells (QDIBSCs) have been designed and optimized for the next generation photovoltaic technology. The wave behavior of charge carriers inside the dot and their barrier have been analyzed with different dot sizes and interdot spacing. The device characteristics such as short circuit current density, Jsc, open circuit voltage, Voc, and conversion efficiency, η, have been evaluated. Based on the behavior of electron wave function, it is found that varying the dot spacing leads to a change in the IB width and in the density of states, whereas varying the size of dots leads to a formation of a second IB. For a fixed dot spacing, two ranges of dot sizes vary the number of IBs in In0.53Ga0.47As/GaAs QDIBSC. Smaller dots of a size ranging from 2 nm to 5 nm form a single IB while larger dots of a size ranging from 6 nm to 9 nm can produce 2 IBs. The efficiency of 2 IBs close to 1 IB suggests that formation of multiple IBs can possibly enhance the device efficiency.

Detailed balance limit efficiency of silicon intermediate band solar cells

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 097103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Cao ◽  
Zhi-Hua Ma ◽  
Chun-Lai Xue ◽  
Yu-Hua Zuo ◽  
Qi-Ming Wang
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Detailed Balance ◽  
Intermediate Band ◽  
Intermediate Band Solar Cells ◽  
Detailed Balance Limit

Investigation of the open-circuit voltage in wide-bandgap InGaP-host InP quantum dot intermediate-band solar cells

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (4S) ◽  
pp. 04FS04 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taketo Aihara ◽  
Takeshi Tayagaki ◽  
Yuki Nagato ◽  
Yoshinobu Okano ◽  
Takeyoshi Sugaya
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Quantum Dot ◽  
Open Circuit Voltage ◽  
Wide Bandgap ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Intermediate Band ◽  
Intermediate Band Solar Cells

Numerical Modeling of CuInxGa(1-x)Se2/WS2 Thin Solar Cell with an Enhanced PCE

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-401
Author(s):  
Youcef Belhadji
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Buffer Layer ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Light Spectrum ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Cell Parameters ◽  
The Impact

Designing thin film solar cells with high and stable output performance under different operating points remains a large area of research. In the context of Chalcopyrite-based solar cells (CuInxGa(1-x)Se2) where the buffer layer is CdS, great progress has been made but research is still underway to optimize their performance. Besides the environmental concerns and limiting factors of CdS material, the use or combination of new materials like ZnS, ZnSe and WS2 as a buffer layer is solicited. Due to these attracted optical and crystallographic properties, Tungsten Disulfide: WS2 is solicited during the last years. Through numerical simulation, we investigate in this work the dc parameters of CuInxGa(1-x)Se2/WS2 solar cell with reduced buffer layer thickness of 30 nm. Considering the presence of neutral and divalent defects in the absorber layer, simulations are performed under the impact of temperature, concentration of charge carriers in WS2 layer and light spectrum change. The divalent defects taken into account are: double donors / acceptors and amphoteric having a Gaussian distribution. For more calculation precision and in order to obtain the desired performance of the solar cell, the impact of series and shunt resistors is also considered. In comparison with results reported in previous works, carried out on the CuInxGa(1-x) Se2/WS2 solar cell, a remarkable improvement in the performance of the solar cell is achieved. When temperature increase by 10K, the short circuit current and  open circuit voltage are enhanced by ~0,05mA/cm2 and ~0,0022 respectively. The optimal values of the solar cell parameters obtained in this study are: Jsc≈ 31.0683 (mA/cm2), Voc=1.0173 (V), PCE = 26.72 % and FF=84.54%.

scholarly journals Projected Performance of an InxGa1-xAs Quantum Dot Intermediate Band Solar Cell

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-52
Author(s):  
Sayeda Anika Amin ◽  
Md. Tanvir Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Quantum Dot ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Intermediate Band ◽  
Single Junction ◽  
Intermediate Band Solar Cell ◽  
The Impact

Quantum Dot Intermediate Band Solar Cell (QDIBSC) is one of the emerging technologies in the solar photovoltaic arena, which has immense potential to be demonstrated as a high efficiency device. For a QDIBSC to surpass the efficiency of a single junction cell, optimization of design is required. In this work, a QDIBSC model based on In0.53Ga0.47As quantum dots has been designed and evaluated with respect to dot size and spacing. The impact of carrier lifetime on short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage is studied. The conversion efficiency has been enhanced from 27.1% to 32.62% as compared to a conventional single junction cell.

scholarly journals The absorber and buffer layer thicknesses for CdTe/CdS based thin film solar cell efficiency at various operational temperatures

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Omar Ghanim Ghazal ◽  
Ahmed Waleed Kasim ◽  
Nabeel Zuhair Tawfeeq
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Solar Cell ◽  
Fill Factor ◽  
Open Circuit Voltage ◽  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Short Circuit Current ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Window Layer ◽  
The Impact

Cadmium telluride (CdTe)/cadmium sulfide (CdS) solar cell is a promising candidate for photovoltaic (PV) energy production, as fabrication costs are compared by silicon wafers. We include an analysis of CdTe/CdS solar cells while optimizing structural parameters. Solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS)-1D 3.3 software is used to analyze and develop energy-efficient. The impact of operating thermal efficiency on solar cells is highlighted in this article to explore the temperature dependence. PV parameters were calculated in the different absorber, buffer, and window layer thicknesses (CdTe, CdS, and SnO2). The effect of the thicknesses of the layers, and the fundamental characteristics of open-circuit voltage, fill factor, short circuit current, and solar energy conversion efficiency were studied. The results showed the thickness of the absorber and buffer layers could be optimized. The temperature had a major impact on the CdTe/CdS solar cells as well. The optimized solar cell has an efficiency performance of >14% when exposed to the AM1.5 G spectrum. CdTe 3000 nm, CdS 50 nm, SnO2 500 nm, and (at) T 300k were the I-V characteristics gave the best conversion open circuit voltage (Voc)=0.8317 volts, short circuit current density (Jsc)=23.15 mA/cm2, fill factor (FF)%=77.48, and efficiency (η)%=14.73. The results can be used to provide important guidance for future work on multi-junction solar cell design.

Impact of Layer Number on Flexible High-Voltage Nanostructured Solar Cells

MRS Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (14) ◽  
pp. 891-899
Author(s):  
Roger E. Welser ◽  
Ashok K. Sood ◽  
S. Rao Tatavarti ◽  
Andree Wibowo ◽  
David M. Wilt
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Quantum Well ◽  
Short Circuit ◽  
Multiple Quantum Well ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Multiple Quantum ◽  
Single Quantum Well ◽  
Quantum Well Structures ◽  
Layer Number ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTNanostructured quantum well and quantum dot solar cells are being widely investigated as a means of extending infrared absorption and enhancing photovoltaic device performance. In this work, we describe the impact of nanostructured layer number on the performance of flexible, highvoltage InGaAs/GaAs quantum well solar cells. Multiple quantum well structures are observed to have a higher short circuit current but a lower open circuit voltage than similar single quantum well structures. Analysis of the underlying dark diode characteristics indicate that these highvoltage structures are limited by radiative recombination at high bias levels. The results of this study suggest that future development efforts should focus on maximizing the current generating capability of a limited number of nanostructured layers and minimizing recombination within the nanostructured absorber.

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