Search results for "Theory of solar cells"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Analytic $JV$ -Characteristics of Ideal Intermediate Band Solar Cells and Solar Cells With Up and Downconverters
2017
The ideal diode equation is regularly used to describe the $\textit {JV}$ -characteristic of single junction solar cells. The connection between the diode equation and fundamental physics is the application of the Boltzmann approximation to describe the fluxes of photons emitted by the cell. In this paper, this approximation is used to derive analytic $\textit {JV}$ -characteristics for three photovoltaic high-efficiency concepts, intermediate band solar cells, and solar cells optically coupled to up and downconverters. These three concepts share the common feature that they allow excitation of electrons between at least three energy levels, which assures a better utilization of the solar s…
Recombination in Perovskite Solar Cells
2017
Trap-assisted recombination, despite being lower as compared with traditional inorganic solar cells, is still the dominant recombination mechanism in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and limits their efficiency. We investigate the attributes of the primary trap assisted recombination channels (grain boundaries and interfaces) and their correlation to defect ions in PSCs. We achieve this by using a validated device model to fit the simulations to the experimental data of efficient vacuum-deposited p-i-n and n-i-p CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells, including the light intensity dependence of the open circuit voltage and fill factor. We find that, despite the presence of traps at interfaces and grain bounda…
Challenges with balancing excitations in intermediate-band solar cells
2015
New insight into the potential of practical solar cells can be given through alternative modeling approaches like Monte Carlo simulations. In the present work, the performance of intermediate band solar cells was examined by this method. It is demonstrated that the balance of excitations from the valence band to the intermediate band and from the intermediate band to the conduction band is of great importance for the performance of such cells. Several cases with different distributions of photons given by ASTM standards have been employed in order to detect spectrum sensitivity. Incident photons are accounted for as they interact with the electrons in the valence band or in the intermediate…
Review on up/down conversion materials for solar cell application
2012
The present paper reviews the methods of photon up- and down conversion strategies for improving the efficiency of solar cells. Photons with a lower energy than the band gap will be lost in a normal solar cell. The principle of the up conversion technique is that two or more photons are converted into a photon with energy higher than the band gap energy. High energy photons will lose the energy above the band gap energy limit. Down conversion is a process where a high energy photon is converted into several lower energy photons with energies above the band gap. A description is given of the most common methods and materials for these conversions resulting in higher solar cell efficiencies.
Improving Perovskite Solar Cells: Insights From a Validated Device Model
2017
To improve the efficiency of existing perovskite solar cells (PSCs), a detailed understanding of the underlying device physics during their operation is essential. Here, a device model has been developed and validated that describes the operation of PSCs and quantitatively explains the role of contacts, the electron and hole transport layers, charge generation, drift and diffusion of charge carriers and recombination. The simulation to the experimental data of vacuum-deposited CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells over multiple thicknesses has been fit and the device behavior under different operating conditions has been studied to delineate the influence of the external bias, charge-carrier mobilities, e…
Influence of spectral composition on the temperature coefficients of solar cells from Elkem Solar
2014
The temperature coefficients of solar cells from two different feedstocks — a compensated silicon, the Elkem Solar Silicon (ESS®), and polysilicon - under full and selective parts of the light spectrum are presented based on results obtained using a AAA sun simulator. These results are of particular interest in understanding the possible causes behind the better temperature coefficients usually observed for ESS® compared to polysilicon solar cells when measured with a full AM1.5 spectrum. The optical filtered lights from four different regions of the spectrum have been used to examine the influence of temperature coefficients on the spectral composition. ESS® solar cells showed considerable…
Impact of transparent conductive oxide on the admittance of thin film solar cells
2010
Abstract The impact of transparent electrically conducting oxide (TCO) on the admittance measurements of thin film p–i–n a-Si:H solar cells was investigated. Admittance measurements on solar cell devices, with different area and geometry, in a wide range of frequencies and biases were performed. The admittance measurements of the investigated solar cells, which use the TCO as an electrical contact, showed that the high frequency admittance per area unit depends on the area. This effect increases both with the probe frequency and the size of the solar cells. Transmission line model valid for strip geometry which explains how the resistivity of the TCO layer impacts the measured admittance of…
Theoretical analysis of the optimum energy band gap of semiconductors for fabrication of solar cells for applications in higher latitudes locations
2005
In this work some results of theoretical analysis on the selection of optimum band gap semiconductor absorbers for application in either single or multijunction (up to five junctions) solar cells are presented. For calculations days have been taken characterized by various insolation and ambient temperature conditions defined in the draft of the IEC 61836 standard (Performance testing and energy rating of terrestrial photovoltaic modules) as a proposal of representative set of typical outdoor conditions that may influence performance of photovoltaic devices. Besides various irradiance and ambient temperature ranges, these days additionally differ significantly regarding spectral distributio…
Chalcopyrite Semiconductors for Quantum Well Solar Cells
2011
We explore here the possibilities of using highly absorbing chalcopyrite semiconductors of the type Cu(In,Ga)Se2 in a quantum well solar cell structure. Thin alternating layers of 50 nm CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 were grown epitaxially on a GaAs(100) substrate employing metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The optical properties of a resulting structure of three layers were investigated by photoluminescence and photoreflectance, indicating charge carrier confinement ∗To whom correspondence should be addressed †Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin ‡Universidad Politecnica de Madrid ¶University of Illinois §University of Jyvaskyla ‖Current address: Universitat des Saarlandes, Uni Campus, Gebaude A5.1, 66123 Saarbr…