Search results for "Solar"
showing 10 items of 2301 documents
An accurate one-diode model suited to represent the current-voltage characteristics of crystalline and thin-film photovoltaic modules
2020
Abstract In this paper a new one-diode model, conceived in order to be used to represent the current-voltage curves of both crystalline and thin-film photovoltaic modules, is presented. The model parameters are calculated from the information contained in the datasheets issued by manufactures by means of simple iterative procedures that do not require the assumption of simplifying hypotheses. Some innovative relations describing the dependence of the parameters from the solar irradiance and cell temperature are adopted in order to permit the model to reliably simulate the electrical behaviour of photovoltaic devices operating in real conditions. The ability of the model to calculate the cur…
Plasmonic modes in molybdenum ultra-thin films suitable for hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film solar cells
2014
We have recently demonstrated that molybdenum ultra-thin films interposed between hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and SnO2:F transparent conductive oxide (TCO) in thin film solar cells show light trapping effects which enhance the solar cells performances. The effect of this improvement may be attributed to surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes excited at the molybdenum interface by the solar radiation. In this paper we show direct evidence of such SPP modes in the case of the molybdenum/air interface by using the attenuated total reflection (ATR) technique, pioneered by Kretschmann, and we evaluate the dielectric constant of molybdenum at 660 nm. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by …
Three-dimensional photonic crystal intermediate reflectors for enhanced light-trapping in tandem solar cells
2011
A three-dimensional photonic crystal intermediate reflector for enhanced light trapping in tandem solar cells is presented. The intermediate reflector consists of a transparent and conductive ZnO:Al inverted opal sandwiched in between the top amorphous silicon and bottom microcrystalline silicon cell.
Amorphous Silicon Nanotubes via Galvanic Displacement Deposition
2013
Amorphous silicon nanotubes were grown in a single step into a polycarbonate membrane by a galvanic displacement reaction conducted in aqueous solution. In order to optimize the process, a specifically designed galvanic cell was used. SEM images, after polycarbonate dissolution, showed interconnected nanotube bundles with an average length of 18 μm and wall thickness of 38 nm.The deposited silicon was revealed by EDS analysis, whilst X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy showed that nanotubes have an amorphous structure. Silicon nanotubes were also characterized by photo-electrochemical measurements that showed n-type conductivity and optical gap of ~1.6 eV. Keywords: Silicon nanotubes, …
Development of a test station for accurate in situ I-V curve measurements of photovoltaic modules in Southern Norway
2011
The development of an outdoor test station for accurate in situ I-V curve measurements of photovoltaic (PV) modules is described. The modules are installed in an open-rack configuration at the University of Agder in Southern Norway. Seven new and three aged PV modules of different type and make are being tested, including mono-and multicrystalline silicon from differing manufacturing routes, triple-junction amorphous silicon, and CIS. Data acquisition is controlled with a multichannel electronic load system and LabVIEW software, recording high-resolution I-V curves at one-minute intervals. Between I-V curve sweeps, each module is operated at the maximum power point. Characteristic electrica…
Influence of the electro-optical properties of an a-Si:H single layer on the performances of a pin solar cell
2012
We analyze the results of an extensive characterization study involving electrical and optical measurements carried out on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (α-Si:H) thin film materials fabricated under a wide range of deposition conditions. By adjusting the synthesis parameters, we evidenced how conductivity, activation energy, electrical transport and optical absorption of an α-Si:H layer can be modified and optimized. We analyzed the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor of the dark conductivity by varying the dopant-to-silane gas flow ratio. Optical measurements allowed to extract the absorption spectra and the optical bandgap. Additionally, we report on the temperature dependen…
Single-Exciton Amplified Spontaneous Emission in Thin Films of CsPbX3 (X = Br, I) Perovskite Nanocrystals
2019
CsPbX3 perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) have emerged as an excellent material for stimulated emission purposes, with even more prospective applications than conventional colloidal quantum dots. However, a better understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is required to achieve more ambitious targets (lasing under continuous wave optical or electrical excitation). Here, we establish the intrinsic mechanisms underlying ASE in PNCs of three different band gaps (CsPbBr3, CsPbBr1.5I1.5, and CsPbI3). Our characterization at cryogenic temperatures does not reveal any evidence of the biexciton mechanism in the formation of ASE. Instead, the measured …
Theoretical study on the influence of electric field direction on the photovoltaic performance of aryl amine organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar ce…
2019
It is very important to reveal the influence of different electric field directions on dye sensitizers. Thus, in this study, we investigated the electronic structures and optical properties of six designed aryl amine organic dye models under different electric fields using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). Moreover, the electronic structures and optical properties of these studied dyes with different electric field in tetrahydrofuran (THF) were also calculated. The key parameters of the short-circuit current density (Jsc), including light harvesting efficiency (LHE) and intra-molecular charge transfer (ICT), are discussed in detail. With …
Core-shell Zn-doped TiO2-ZnO nanofibers fabricated via a combination of electrospinning and metal-organic chemical vapour deposition
2010
Zn-doped TiO2 nanofibers shelled with ZnO hierarchical nanoarchitectures have been fabricated combining electrospinning of TiO2 (anatase) nanofibers and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of ZnO. The proposed hybrid approach has proven suitable for tailoring both the morphology of the ZnO external shell as well as the crystal structure of the Zn-doped TiO2 core. It has been found that the Zn dopant is incorporated in calcined electrospun nanofibers without any evidence of ZnO aggregates. Effects of different Zn doping levels of Zn-doped TiO2 fibers have been scrutinized and morphological, structural, physico-chemical and optical properties evaluated before and after the hierarc…
Exploring the validity of the long term data record V4 database for land surface monitoring
2015
The last (and final) version of the Long Term Data Record (LTDR) — Version 4 — has been released recently by NASA. This database includes daily information for all AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) channels, as well as ancillary data, since July 1981 up to present. This database is the longest available record of remotely sensed data useful for land surface monitoring, since it allows the estimation of vegetation indices at daily resolution, as well as the daily estimation of land surface temperature (LST). Here, we analyze the fitness of this database for land surface monitoring. To that end, we first estimated NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), LST, as well as e…