The use of an ITO‐free MoO3/Ag/MoO3 anode to control the photon harvesting in PCDTBT:PC70BM solar cells is proposed. At first sight, the fact that these anodes possess reduced far‐field transmission ...compared to ITO may seem to be a disadvantage. But, despite this, we show that by carefully tuning the resonant optical cavity we can enhance the external quantum efficiency close to the band edge of PCDTBT, resulting in high photocurrent and power conversion efficiency on par with ITO.
This paper deals with one competent light trapping structure of metamaterials embedded p-Si/n-ZnO-based thin solar cell assisted by different simulation studies. Through this article, the author ...exposed the credibility of ZnO as multidimensional material with dual utility to serve as anti-reflective coating with active material of this heterojunction solar cell. Additionally, dielectric metamaterial like silica nanoparticles on top of the structure enhanced the photon cultivation efficiency of the device. Further through this work, the author tries to validate the simulated structure in real world by the process of simple fabrication technique, which also offers same optical responses already given by theoretical studies. This investigation also confirms the metamaterial property of the monolayer silica nanoparticles in higher angle of incidence of light, which validates its utility in solar cell where injection of photon is needed throughout the day..
Effective photon management is critical to realize high power conversion efficiencies for thin crystalline silicon (c‐Si) solar cells. Standard few‐100‐µm‐thick bulk cells achieve light trapping with ...macroscopic surface textures covered by thin, continuous antireflection coatings. Such sizeable textures are challenging to implement on ultrathin cells. Here, it is illustrated how nanoscale Mie‐resonator‐arrays with a bimodal size distribution support multiple resonances that can work in concert to achieve simultaneous antireflection and light‐trapping across the broad solar spectrum. The effectiveness of these light‐trapping antireflection coatings is experimentally demonstrated on a 2.8 µm‐thick c‐Si solar cell. The measured short‐circuit current and corresponding power conversion efficiency are notably improved, achieving efficiencies as high as 11.2%. Measurements of the saturation current density on completed cells indicate that thermal oxides can effectively limit surface recombination. The presented design principles are applicable to a wide range of solar cells.
A nanophotonic design strategy to realize Mie‐resonator arrays that can combine antireflection and light‐trapping functions in a single, thin layer is discussed. The proposed light‐trapping antireflection coating is experimentally demonstrated on a 2.8 µm‐thick crystalline silicon (c‐Si) solar cell, resulting in a 48% enhancement in the short‐circuit current as compared to a planar cell and an absolute efficiency of 11.2%.
We experimentally demonstrate photocurrent enhancement in ultrathin Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) solar cells with absorber layers of 460 nm by nanoscale dielectric light scattering patterns printed by ...substrate conformal imprint lithography. We show that patterning the front side of the device with TiO2 nanoparticle arrays results in a small photocurrent enhancement in almost the entire 400–1200 nm spectral range due to enhanced light coupling into the cell. Three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations are in good agreement with external quantum efficiency measurements. Patterning the Mo/CIGSe back interface using SiO2 nanoparticles leads to strongly enhanced light trapping, increasing the efficiency from 11.1% for a flat to 12.3% for a patterned cell. Simulations show that optimizing the array geometry could further improve light trapping. Including nanoparticles at the Mo/CIGSe interface leads to substantially reduced parasitic absorption in the Mo back contact. Parasitic absorption in the back contact can be further reduced by fabricating CIGSe cells on top of a SiO2-patterned In2O3:Sn (ITO) back contact. Simulations show that these semitransparent cells have similar spectrally averaged reflection and absorption in the CIGSe active layer as a Mo-based patterned cell, demonstrating that the absorption losses in the Mo can be partially turned into transmission through the semitransparent geometry.
Solar desalination driven by solar radiation as heat source is freely available, however, hindered by low efficiency. Herein, we first design and synthesize black titania with a unique nanocage ...structure simultaneously with light trapping effect to enhance light harvesting, well-crystallized interconnected nanograins to accelerate the heat transfer from titania to water and with opening mesopores (4–10 nm) to facilitate the permeation of water vapor. Furthermore, the coated self-floating black titania nanocages film localizes the temperature increase at the water–air interface rather than uniformly heating the bulk of the water, which ultimately results in a solar–thermal conversion efficiency as high as 70.9% under a simulated solar light with an intensity of 1 kW m–2 (1 sun). This finding should inspire new black materials with rationally designed structure for superior solar desalination performance.
One of the most promising desalination techniques is photothermal membrane distillation (PhMD). The research focus of PhMD technology is material renewal and structural design. Herein, the CuMOF-PVDF ...photothermal membranes were designed for PhMD. Firstly, a combination of chemical plating and oxidation was used to generate Cu(OH)2 nanowires (NWs) onto the PVDF membrane. Then, the ligands were chemically bonded with Cu(OH)2 NWs to grow the photothermal layer formed by the CuMOF hierarchical structure (CMHS). Under sunlight irradiation, the light was trapped in the CMHS, amplifying absorption and conversion of light. The CuMOF-PVDF membrane with the match-like CMHS absorbed 88.6 % of the light, resulting in a surface temperature of 74.3 °C after 600s. Moreover, by reducing the evaporation enthalpy of water, the performance of the CuMOF photothermal layer was comprehensively improved, realizing a water evaporation rate of 1.55 kg‧m−2‧h−1 and a high photothermal conversion rate of 71.4 %. During the PVMD process, the feed solution in the CuMOF photothermal layer was fully heated and supplied to the vaporization area, weakening the temperature polarization. Consequently, the flux of the CuMOF-PVDF membrane was 3.07 kg‧m−2‧h−1 and a 99.9 % rejection rate, corresponding to an energy efficiency of 85.2 %. The CuMOF-PVDF membrane is an efficient tool for PhMD, helping to advance desalination technologies.
Display omitted
•Photothermal membrane consists of CuMOF photothermal layer and PVDF membrane.•Photothermal layer has hierarchical structure, shaping like a match.•Contribution of hierarchical structure to overall performance of membrane.•CuMOF-PVDF membranes perform well in photothermal vacuum membrane distillation.
Display omitted
•UVO treatment effectively converts C6 dimers into monomers, significantly boosting luminescence.•Thin SiOx layers formed by UVO on LSC surfaces enhance photon efficiency and improve ...device stability.•UV-C treatment counteracts the luminescence decline in C6 dye, restoring absorption and photoluminescence.•UVO-treated LSC-PV modules exhibit a remarkable 32% improvement in PCE and enhanced stability over 30 days.
Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) that incorporate organic dyes face challenges such as self-absorption loss and aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) as doping concentration increases, limiting the dye loading capacity. Particularly for dyes with a small Stokes shift, losses due to self-absorption or quenching are prominent even at low concentrations, hindering the attainment of high power conversion efficiency (PCE) in LSCs. Additionally, exposure of the dye-impregnated polymer matrix to oxygen, moisture, UV light, and other factors leads to a decrease in luminescence efficiency and stability due to the photooxidation reaction of the phosphor. This study presents a facile approach for enhancement of the efficiency and environmental stability of coumarin 6 (C6) dye-doped polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) LSC through ultraviolet ozone (UVO) treatment. Photocleavage of the C6 dimer into a C6 monomer through UVO treatment leads to a significant enhancement in luminescence. Additionally, thin SiOx layers formed on both sides of the LSC not only assist in capturing luminescent light more efficiently but also block the penetration of oxygen and moisture into the LSC, resulting improved device stability. UVO-treated LSC shows approximately 32 % improvement in PCE compared to bare LSCs and exhibits significantly better stability during the 30-day long-term performance test.
The Front Cover shows the development of Roll‐to‐Roll (R2R) light‐management foils integrated into fully scalable non‐fullerene acceptor (NFA)‐based organic photovoltaics (OPV) to enhance light ...absorption in, and power conversion efficiency of, the solar cells. The R2R light‐management foils are demonstrated to provide a 25% enhancement in power conversion efficiency enhancement for the NFA OPV, demonstrating that this may be a viable route for boosting the performance of industrial OPV in the future. More information can be found in the Full Paper by M. A. Yakoob et al.
By reducing the thickness of the absorber layers, ultrathin GaAs solar cells can be fabricated in a more cost‐effective manner using less source material and shorter deposition times. In this work, ...ultrathin GaAs solar cells are presented with a diffuse scattering layer based on wide bandgap GaP grown directly on the device layers of the cells with MOCVD. The roughness and surface morphology are quantified using atomic force microscopy and the resulting diffuse scattering capability is assessed using wavelength‐dependent reflectance measurements. Ohmic rear contacts are made using contact points etched through the GaP layer, for which an etching procedure using I2:KI was developed and optimized. The performance of the GaP textured ultrathin GaAs cells are compared with equivalent planar cells using current density‐voltage measurements and external quantum efficiency measurements, where the GaP textured cells demonstrate an increase of 6.7% in the short‐circuit current density (JSC), which was found to be as high as 21.9 mA·cm−2 as a result of increased photon absorption by light‐trapping.
Ultrathin GaAs solar cells are presented with a diffuse scattering layer based on wide bandgap GaP grown directly on the device layers of the cells with MOCVD. The performance of the cells is compared to equivalent planar cells using current density‐voltage measurements and external quantum efficiency measurements, where the GaP textured cells demonstrate an increase of 6.7% in the short‐circuit current density as a result of increased photon absorption by light‐trapping.
PDF
