A Comparative Study between Silicon Germanium and Germanium Solar Cells by Numerical Simulation

2015 ◽  
Vol 761 ◽  
pp. 341-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Aizan Zulkefle ◽  
Maslan Zainon ◽  
Zaihasraf Zakaria ◽  
Mohd Ariff Mat Hanafiah ◽  
Nurul Huda Abdul Razak ◽  
...  

This paper presents the performance between silicon germanium (SiGe) and crystalline germanium (Ge) solar cells in terms of their simulated open circuit voltage, short circuit current density, fill factor and efficiency. The PC1D solar cell modeling software has been used to simulate and analyze the performance for both solar cells, and the total thickness is limited to 1μm of both SiGe and Ge solar cells. The Si0.1Ge0.9 thickness is varied from 10nm to 100nm to examine the effect of Si0.1Ge0.9 thickness on SiGe solar cell. The result of simulation exhibits the SiGe solar cell give a better performance compared to Ge solar cell. The efficiency of 9.74% (VOC = 0.48V, JSC = 27.86mA/cm2, FF =0.73) is achieved with Si0.1Ge0.9 layer of 0.1μm in thickness whilst 2.73% (VOC = 0.20V, JSC = 27.31mA/cm2, FF =0.50) efficiency is obtained from Ge solar cell.

2004 ◽  
Vol 808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueqin Xu ◽  
Baojie Yan ◽  
Brent P. Nelson ◽  
Eugene Iwaniczko ◽  
Robert C. Reedy ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWe incorporate narrow-gap amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe:H) alloys grown by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) into single-junction n-i-p solar cells, and improve both fill factor (FF) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) by bandgap grading. The Tauc bandgap (ET) of the a-SiGe:H is as low as about 1.25 eV. Previously [1], we obtained a short-circuit current density (Jsc) up to 20 mA/cm2 in an n-i-p device incorporating an ungraded 120-nm i-layer of 1.25-eV a-SiGe:H. However, without buffer layers or bandgap profiling, the fill factor was only 38%, likely due to an abrupt bandgap transition and poor hole collection. To overcome these problems, we have used composition bandgap profiling throughout the i-layer and improved both Voc and FF significantly without any Jsc loss. The solar cell efficiency is improved from 3.55% to 5.85% and Voc rises from 0.475 to 0.550 eV. This improved single-junction a-SiGe:H solar cell has a quantum efficiency of about 48% at l=800 nm and about 15% at l=900 nm. We present details of the bandgap profiling and its effect on device performance.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1684
Author(s):  
Alessandro Romeo ◽  
Elisa Artegiani

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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 665 ◽  
pp. 330-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ripal Parmar ◽  
Dipak Sahay ◽  
R.J. Pathak ◽  
R.K. Shah

The solar cells have been used as most promising device to convert light energy into electrical energy. In this paper authors have attempted to fabricate Photoelectrochemical solar cell with semiconductor electrode using TMDCs. The Photoelectrochemical solar cells are the solar cells which convert the solar energy into electrical energy. The photoelectrochemical cells are clean and inexhaustible sources of energy. The photoelectrochemical solar cells are fabricated using WSe2crystal and electrolyte solution of 0.025M I2, 0.5M NaI, 0.5M Na2SO4. Here the WSe2crystals were grown by direct vapour transport technique. In our investigations the solar cell parameters like short circuit current (Isc) and Open circuit voltage (Voc) were measured and from that Fill factor (F.F.) and photoconversion efficiency (η) are investigated. The results obtained shows that the value of efficiency and fill factor of solar cell varies with the illumination intensities.


Author(s):  
Nur Shakina Mohd Shariff ◽  
Puteri Sarah Mohamad Saad ◽  
Mohamad Rusop Mahmood

There has been an increasing interest towards organic solar cells after the discovery of conjugated polymer and bulk-heterojunction concept. Eventhough organic solar cells are less expensive than inorganic solar cells but the power conversion energy is still considered low. The main objective of this research is to investigate the effect of the P3HT’s thickness and concentration towards the efficiency of the P3HT:Graphene solar cells. A simulation software that is specialize for photovoltaic called SCAPS is used in this research to simulate the effect on the solar cells. The solar cell’s structure will be drawn inside the simulation and the parameters for each layers is inserted. The result such as the open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF), efficiency (η), capacitance-voltage (C-V) and capacitance-frequency (C-f) characteristic will be calculated by the software and all the results will be put into one graph.


2011 ◽  
Vol 378-379 ◽  
pp. 601-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saleh N. Alamri ◽  
M. S. Benghanem ◽  
A. A. Joraid

This study investigates the preparation of the three main layers of a CdS/CdTe thin film solar cell using a single vacuum system. A Close Space Sublimation System was constructed to deposit CdS, CdTe and CdCl2 solar cell layers. Two hot plates were used to heat the source and the substrate. Three fused silica melting dishes were used as containers for the sources. The properties of the deposited CdS and CdTe films were determined via Atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and optical transmission spectroscopy. An J-V characterization of the fabricated CdS/CdTe solar cells was performed under solar radiation. The short-circuit current density, Jsc, the open-circuit voltage, Voc, fill factor, FF and conversion efficiency, η, were measured and yielded values of 27 mA/cm2, 0.619 V, 58% and 9.8%, respectively.


2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. RUSOP ◽  
M. ADACHI ◽  
T. SOGA ◽  
T. JIMBO

Phosphorus-doped amorphous carbon (n-C:P) films were grown by r. f.-power-assisted plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition at room temperature using a novel solid red phosphorus target. The influence of phosphorus doping on material properties of n-C:P based on the results of simultaneous characterization are reported. Moreover, the solar cell properties such as series resistance, short circuit current density, open circuit current voltage, fill factor and conversion efficiency along with the spectral response are reported for the fabricated carbon-based n-C:P/p-Si heterojunction solar cell that was measured by standard measurement technique. The cells performances have been given in the dark I–V rectifying curve and I–V working curve under illumination when exposed to AM 1.5 illumination condition (100 mW/cm 2, 25°C). The maximum of open-circuit voltage (V oc ) and short-circuit current density (J sc ) for the cells are observed to be approximately 236 V and 7.34, mAcm 2 respectively for the n-C:P/p-Si cell grown at lower r. f. power of 100 W. The highest energy conversion efficiency (η) and fill factor (FF) were found to be approximately 0.84% and 49%, respectively. We have observed that the rectifying nature of the heterojunction structures is due to the nature of n-C:P films.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Tran Thi Thao ◽  
Vu Thi Hai ◽  
Nguyen Nang Dinh ◽  
Le Dinh Trong

By using spin-coating technique, a low bandgap conjugated polymer, poly[2,6-(4,4-bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopen-ta[2,1-b;3,4-b′]dithiophene)-alt-4,7-(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] (PCPDTBT)  and its composite thin films have been prepared. The optical absorption and photoconductive properties with over a wide spectral range, from 350 to 950  nm, were characterized. The obtained results showed that PCPDTBT:10 wt% CdSe  composite is the most suitable for efficient light-harvesting in polymer-based photovoltaic cells. The photoelectrical conversion efficiency (PCE) of the device with  a multilayer structure of ITO/PEDOT/ PCPDTBT:CdSe /LiF/Al  reached a value as large as 1.34% with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) = 0.57 V, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) = 4.29 mA/cm2, and a fill factor (FF) = 0.27. This suggests a useful application in further fabrication of quantum dots/polymers based solar cells.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (40) ◽  
pp. 4636-4643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhicai He ◽  
Chengmei Zhong ◽  
Xun Huang ◽  
Wai-Yeung Wong ◽  
Hongbin Wu ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Do Yun Kim ◽  
Ihsanul Afdi Yunaz ◽  
Shunsuke Kasashima ◽  
Shinsuke Miyajima ◽  
Makoto Konagai

AbstractOptical, electrical and structural properties of silicon films depending on hydrogen flow rate (RH), substrate temperature (TS), and deposition pressure (PD) were investigated. By decreasing RH and increasing TS and PD, the optical band gap (Eopt) of silicon thin films drastically declined from 1.8 to 1.63 eV without a big deterioration in electrical properties. We employed all the investigated Si thin films for p-i-n structured solar cells as absorbers with i-layer thickness of 300 nm. From the measurement of solar cell performances, it was clearly observed that spectral response in long wavelength was enhanced as Eopt of absorber layers decreased. Using the solar cell whose Eopt of i-layer was 1.65 eV, the highest QE at long wavelength with the short circuit current density (Jsc) of 16.34 mA/cm2 was achieved, and open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), and conversion efficiency (η) were 0.66 V, 0.57, and 6.13%, respectively.


2011 ◽  
Vol 347-353 ◽  
pp. 3666-3669
Author(s):  
Ming Biao Li ◽  
Li Bin Shi

The AMPS-ID program is used to investigate optical and electrical properties of the solar cell of a-SiC:H/a-Si1-xGex:H/a-Si:H thin films. The short circuit current density, open circuit voltage, fill factor and conversion efficiency of the solar cell are investigated. For x=0.1, the conversion efficiency of the solar cell achieve maximum 9.19 % at the a-Si1-xGex:H thickness of 340 nm.


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