High efficiency copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Rajanikant, Ray Jayminkumar

The generation of electrical current from the solar radiation is known as the photovoltaic effect. Solar cell, also known as photovoltaic (PV) cell, is a device that works on the principle of photovoltaic effect, and is widely used for the generation of electricity. Thin film polycrystalline solar cells based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) are admirable candidates for clean energy production with competitive prices in the near future. CIGS based polycrystalline thin film solar cells with efficiencies of 20.3 % and excellent temperature stability have already been reported at the laboratory level. The present study discusses about the fabrication of CIGS solar cell. Before the fabrication part of CIGS solar cell, a numerical simulation is carried out using One-Dimensional Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures (AMPS-ID) for understanding the physics of a solar cell device, so that an optimal structure is analyzed. In the fabrication part of CIGS solar cell, Molybdenum (Mo) thin film, which acts as a 'low' resistance metallic back contact, is deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on organically cleaned soda lime glass substrate. The major advantages for using Mo are high temperature, (greater than 600 °C), stability and inertness to CIGS layer (i.e., no diffusion of CIGS into Mo). Mo thin film is deposited at room temperature (RT) by varying the RF power and the working pressure. The Mo thin films deposited with 100 W RF power and 1 mTorr working pressure show a reflectivity of above average 50 % and the low sheet resistance of about 1 O/□. The p-type CIGS layer is deposited on Mo. Before making thin films of CIGS, a powder of CIGS material is synthesized using melt-quenching method. Thin films of CIGS are prepared by a single-stage flash evaporation process on glass substrates, initially, for optimization of deposition parameters and than on Mo coated glass substrates for device fabrication. CIGS thin film is deposited at 250 °C at a

High-mobility pyrene-based semiconductor for organic thin-film transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Hyunduck; Lee, Sunyoung; Cho, Nam Sung; Jabbour, Ghassan E; Kwak, Jeonghun; Hwang, Do-Hoon; Lee, Changhee

2013-05-01

Numerous conjugated oligoacenes and polythiophenes are being heavily studied in the search for high-mobility organic semiconductors. Although many researchers have designed fused aromatic compounds as organic semiconductors for organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), pyrene-based organic semiconductors with high mobilities and on-off current ratios have not yet been reported. Here, we introduce a new pyrene-based p-type organic semiconductor showing liquid crystal behavior. The thin film characteristics of this material are investigated by varying the substrate temperature during the deposition and the gate dielectric condition using the surface modification with a self-assembled monolayer, and systematically studied in correlation with the performances of transistor devices with this compound. OTFT fabricated under the optimum deposition conditions of this compound, namely, 1,6-bis(5'-octyl-2,2'-bithiophen-5-yl)pyrene (BOBTP) shows a high-performance transistor behavior with a field-effect mobility of 2.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and an on-off current ratio of 7.6 × 10(6) and enhanced long-term stability compared to the pentacene thin-film transistor.

Organic Thin-Film Transistor (OTFT-Based Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Elkington

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Organic thin film transistors have been a popular research topic in recent decades and have found applications from flexible displays to disposable sensors. In this review, we present an overview of some notable articles reporting sensing applications for organic transistors with a focus on the most recent publications. In particular, we concentrate on three main types of organic transistor-based sensors: biosensors, pressure sensors and “e-nose”/vapour sensors.

Textured surface boron-doped ZnO transparent conductive oxides on polyethylene terephthalate substrates for Si-based thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xinliang; Lin Quan; Ni Jian; Zhang Dekun; Sun Jian; Zhao Ying; Geng Xinhua

2011-01-01

Textured surface boron-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:B) thin films were directly grown via low pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flexible substrates at low temperatures and high-efficiency flexible polymer silicon (Si) based thin film solar cells were obtained. High purity diethylzinc and water vapors were used as source materials, and diborane was used as an n-type dopant gas. P-i-n silicon layers were fabricated at ∼ 398 K by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. These textured surface ZnO:B thin films on PET substrates (PET/ZnO:B) exhibit rough pyramid-like morphology with high transparencies (T ∼ 80%) and excellent electrical properties (Rs ∼ 10 Ω at d ∼ 1500 nm). Finally, the PET/ZnO:B thin films were applied in flexible p-i-n type silicon thin film solar cells (device structure: PET/ZnO:B/p-i-n a-Si:H/Al) with a high conversion efficiency of 6.32% (short-circuit current density J SC = 10.62 mA/cm 2 , open-circuit voltage V OC = 0.93 V and fill factor = 64%).

Progress in Thin Film Solar Cells Based on Cu2ZnSnS4

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongxia Wang

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The research in thin film solar cells has been dominated by light absorber materials based on CdTe and Cu(In,GaSe2 (CIGS in the last several decades. The concerns of environment impact of cadmium and the limited availability of indium in those materials have driven the research towards developing new substitute light absorbers made from earth abundant, environment benign materials. Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS semiconductor material has emerged as one of the most promising candidates for this aim and has attracted considerable interest recently. Significant progress in this relatively new research area has been achieved in the last three years. Over 130 papers on CZTS have been published since 2007, and the majority of them are on the preparation of CZTS thin films by different methods. This paper, will review the wide range of techniques that have been used to deposit CZTS semiconductor thin films. The performance of the thin film solar cells using the CZTS material will also be discussed.

Electric Transport Phenomena of Nanocomposite Organic Polymer Thin Films

Science.gov (United States)

Jira, Nicholas C.; Sabirianov, Ildar; Ilie, Carolina C.

We discuss herein the nanocomposite organic thin film diodes for the use of plasmonic solar cells. This experimental work follows the theoretical calculations done for plasmonic solar cells using the MNPBEM toolbox for MatLab. These calculations include dispersion curves and amount of light scattering cross sections for different metallic nanoparticles. This study gives us clear ideas on what to expect from different metals, allowing us to make the best choice on what to use to obtain the best results. One specific technique for light trapping in thin films solar cells utilizes metal nanoparticles on the surface of the semiconductor. The characteristics of the metal, semiconductor interface allows for light to be guided in between them causing it to be scattered, allowing for more chances of absorption. The samples were fabricated using organic thin films made from polymers and metallic nanoparticles, more specifically Poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) copolymer and silver or gold nanoparticles. The two fabrication methods applied include spin coating and Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The transport properties are obtained by analyzing the I-V curves. We will also discuss the resistance, resistivity, conductance, density of charge carriers. SUNY Oswego SCAC Grant.

Optimized grid design for thin film solar panels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deelen, J. van; Klerk, L.; Barink, M.

2014-01-01

There is a gap in efficiency between record thin film cells and mass produced thin film solar panels. In this paper we quantify the effect of monolithic integration on power output for various configurations by modeling and present metallization as a way to improve efficiency of solar panels. Grid

Thin film solar cells from earth abundant materials growth and characterization of Cu2(ZnSn)(SSe)4 thin films and their solar cells

CERN Document Server

Kodigala, Subba Ramaiah

2013-01-01

The fundamental concept of the book is to explain how to make thin film solar cells from the abundant solar energy materials by low cost. The proper and optimized growth conditions are very essential while sandwiching thin films to make solar cell otherwise secondary phases play a role to undermine the working function of solar cells. The book illustrates growth and characterization of Cu2ZnSn(S1-xSex)4 thin film absorbers and their solar cells. The fabrication process of absorber layers by either vacuum or non-vacuum process is readily elaborated in the book, which helps for further developm

Polymer and organic solar cells viewed as thin film technologies: What it will take for them to become a success outside academia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krebs, Frederik C; Jørgensen, Mikkel

2013-01-01

The polymer and organic solar cell technology is critically presented in the context of other thin film technologies with a specific focus on what it will take to make them a commercial success. The academic success of polymer and organic solar cells far outweigh any other solar cell technology w...

Recent progress in Si thin film technology for solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Kuwano, Yukinori; Nakano, Shoichi; Tsuda, Shinya

1991-11-01

Progress in Si thin film technology 'specifically amorphous Si (a-Si) and polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) thin film' for solar cells is summarized here from fabrication method, material, and structural viewpoints. In addition to a-Si, primary results on poly-Si thin film research are discussed. Various applications for a-Si solar cells are mentioned, and consumer applications and a-Si solar cell photovoltaic systems are introduced. New product developments include see-through solar cells, solar cell roofing tiles, and ultra-light flexible solar cells. As for new systems, air conditioning equipment powered by solar cells is described. Looking to the future, the proposed GENESIS project is discussed.

Improvements in CdTe- and CIGS-based thin-film solar cells and investigation on new materials for photovoltaic applications.

OpenAIRE

Rosa, Greta

2018-01-01

Currently, thin-film solar cells are one of the most promising technologies for low-cost renewable energy production. CdTe- and CuInGaSe2-based cells, which achieved record efficiencies of 22.1% and 22.6% respectively, are the most attractive among thin-film solar cells. These high efficiencies have had a huge influence in making them highly competitive in the photovoltaic market, with an estimated final cost per module lower than US $ 0.50 per peak-watt. At the Thin Film Laboratory of the...

Dielectric Scattering Patterns for Efficient Light Trapping in Thin-Film Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

van Lare, Claire; Lenzmann, Frank; Verschuuren, Marc A; Polman, Albert

2015-08-12

We demonstrate an effective light trapping geometry for thin-film solar cells that is composed of dielectric light scattering nanocavities at the interface between the metal back contact and the semiconductor absorber layer. The geometry is based on resonant Mie scattering. It avoids the Ohmic losses found in metallic (plasmonic) nanopatterns, and the dielectric scatterers are well compatible with nearly all types of thin-film solar cells, including cells produced using high temperature processes. The external quantum efficiency of thin-film a-Si:H solar cells grown on top of a nanopatterned Al-doped ZnO, made using soft imprint lithography, is strongly enhanced in the 550-800 nm spectral band by the dielectric nanoscatterers. Numerical simulations are in good agreement with experimental data and show that resonant light scattering from both the AZO nanostructures and the embedded Si nanostructures are important. The results are generic and can be applied on nearly all thin-film solar cells.

Self-organized broadband light trapping in thin film amorphous silicon solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Martella, C; Chiappe, D; Delli Veneri, P; Mercaldo, L V; Usatii, I; Buatier de Mongeot, F

2013-06-07

Nanostructured glass substrates endowed with high aspect ratio one-dimensional corrugations are prepared by defocused ion beam erosion through a self-organized gold (Au) stencil mask. The shielding action of the stencil mask is amplified by co-deposition of gold atoms during ion bombardment. The resulting glass nanostructures enable broadband anti-reflection functionality and at the same time ensure a high efficiency for diffuse light scattering (Haze). It is demonstrated that the patterned glass substrates exhibit a better photon harvesting than the flat glass substrate in p-i-n type thin film a-Si:H solar cells.

Development of thin-film Si HYBRID solar module

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakajima, Akihiko; Gotoh, Masahiro; Sawada, Toru; Fukuda, Susumu; Yoshimi, Masashi; Yamamoto, Kenji; Nomura, Takuji [Kaneka Corporation, 2-1-1, Hieitsuji, Otsu, Shiga 520-0104 (Japan)

2009-06-15

The device current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of thin-film silicon stacked tandem solar modules (HYBRID modules), consisting of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) cell and a thin-film crystalline silicon solar cell ({mu}c-Si), have been investigated under various spectral irradiance distributions. The performance of the HYBRID module varied periodically in natural sunlight due to the current-limiting property of the HYBRID module and the environmental effects. The behavior based on the current-limiting property was demonstrated by the modelling of the I-V curves using the linear interpolation method for each component cell. The improvement of the performance for the HYBRID module in natural sunlight will also be discussed from the viewpoint of the device design of the component cells. (author)

Solar control on irradiated Ta2O2 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baydogan, N. D.; Zayim, E. Oe.

2007-01-01

Thin films consisting of Ta 2 O 5 have been used in industry in applications related to thin-film capacitors, optical waveguides, and antireflection coatings on solar cells. Ta 2 O 5 films are used for several special applications as highly refractive material and show different optical properties depending on the deposition methods. Sol-gel technique has been used for the preparation of Ta 2 O 5 thin films. Ta 2 O 5 thin films were prepared by sol-gel proses on glass substrates to obtain good quality films. These films were exposed to gamma radiation from Co-60 radioisotope. Ta 2 O 5 coated thin films were placed against the source and irradiated for 8 different gamma doses; between 0.35 and 21.00 kGy at room temperature. Energetic gamma ray can affect the samples and change its colour. On the other hand some of the Ta 2 O 5 coated thin films were irradiated with beta radiation from Sr-90 radioisotope. The effect of gamma irradiation on the solar properties of Ta 2 O 5 films is compared with that of beta irradiation. The solar properties of the irradiated thin films differ significantly from those of the unirradiated ones. After the irradiation of the samples transmittance and reflectance are measured for solar light between 300 and 2100 nm, by using Perkin Elmer Lambda 9 UV/VIS/NIR Spectrophotometer. Change in the direct solar transmittance, reflectance and absorptance with absorbed dose are determined. Using the optical properties, the redistribution of the absorbed component of the solar radiation and the shading coefficient (SC) are calculated as a function of the convective heat-transfer coefficient. Solar parameters are important for the determination of the shading coefficient. When the secondary internal heat transfer factor (qi), direct solar transmittance (□ e ), and solar factor (g) are known, it is possible to determine shading coefficient via the dose rates. The shading coefficient changes as the dose rate is increased. In this study, the shading

Self-Organized Nanoscale Roughness Engineering for Broadband Light Trapping in Thin FilmSolar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Mennucci

2017-04-01

Full Text Available We present a self-organized method based on defocused ion beam sputtering for nanostructuring glass substrates which feature antireflective and light trapping effects. By irradiating the substrate, capped with a thin gold (Au film, a self-organized Au nanowire stencil mask is firstly created. The morphology of the mask is then transferred to the glass surface by further irradiating the substrate, finally producing high aspect ratio, uniaxial ripple-like nanostructures whose morphological parameters can be tailored by varying the ion fluence. The effect of a Ti adhesion layer, interposed between glass and Au with the role of inhibiting nanowire dewetting, has also been investigated in order to achieve an improved morphological tunability of the templates. Morphological and optical characterization have been carried out, revealing remarkable light trapping performance for the largest ion fluences. The photon harvesting capability of the nanostructured glass has been tested for different preparation conditions by fabricating thin film amorphous Si solar cells. The comparison of devices grown on textured and flat substrates reveals a relative increase of the short circuit current up to 25%. However, a detrimental impact on the electrical performance is observed with the rougher morphologies endowed with steep v-shaped grooves. We finally demonstrate that post-growth ion beam restructuring of the glass template represents a viable approach toward improved electrical performance.

Progress in Polycrystalline Thin-Film Cu(In,GaSe2 Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Udai P. Singh

2010-01-01

Full Text Available For some time, the chalcopyrite semiconductor CuInSe2 and its alloy with Ga and/or S [Cu(InGaSe2 or Cu(InGa(Se,S2], commonly referred as CIGS, have been leading thin-film material candidates for incorporation in high-efficiency photovoltaic devices. CuInSe2-based solar cells have shown long-term stability and the highest conversion efficiencies among all thin-film solar cells, reaching 20%. A variety of methods have been reported to prepare CIGS thin film. Efficiency of solar cells depends upon the various deposition methods as they control optoelectronic properties of the layers and interfaces. CIGS thin film grown on glass or flexible (metal foil, polyimide substrates require p-type absorber layers of optimum optoelectronic properties and n-type wideband gap partner layers to form the p-n junction. Transparent conducting oxide and specific metal layers are used for front and back contacts. Progress made in the field of CIGS solar cell in recent years has been reviewed.

Progress in thin-film silicon solar cells based on photonic-crystal structures

Science.gov (United States)

Ishizaki, Kenji; De Zoysa, Menaka; Tanaka, Yoshinori; Jeon, Seung-Woo; Noda, Susumu

2018-06-01

We review the recent progress in thin-film silicon solar cells with photonic crystals, where absorption enhancement is achieved by using large-area resonant effects in photonic crystals. First, a definitive guideline for enhancing light absorption in a wide wavelength range (600–1100 nm) is introduced, showing that the formation of multiple band edges utilizing higher-order modes confined in the thickness direction and the introduction of photonic superlattice structures enable significant absorption enhancement, exceeding that observed for conventional random scatterers. Subsequently, experimental evidence of this enhancement is demonstrated for a variety of thin-film Si solar cells: ∼500-nm-thick ultrathin microcrystalline silicon cells, few-µm-thick microcrystalline silicon cells, and ∼20-µm-thick thin single-crystalline silicon cells. The high short-circuit current densities and/or efficiencies observed for each cell structure confirm the effectiveness of using multiple band-edge resonant modes of photonic crystals for enhancing broadband absorption in actual solar cells.

Low cost thin film poly-silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-07-01

This report presents the results of a project to design and develop a high density plasma based thin-film poly-silicon (TFPS) deposition system based on PQL proprietary advanced plasma technology to produce semiconductor quality TFPS for fabricating a TFPS solar cell. Details are given of the TFPS deposition system, the material development programme, solar cell structure, and cell efficiencies. The reproducibility of the deposition process and prospects for commercial exploitation are discussed.

Thin film solar cells grown by organic vapor phase deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Fan

Organic solar cells have the potential to provide low-cost photovoltaic devices as a clean and renewable energy resource. In this thesis, we focus on understanding the energy conversion process in organic solar cells, and improving the power conversion efficiencies via controlled growth of organic nanostructures. First, we explain the unique optical and electrical properties of organic materials used for photovoltaics, and the excitonic energy conversion process in donor-acceptor heterojunction solar cells that place several limiting factors of their power conversion efficiency. Then, strategies for improving exciton diffusion and carrier collection are analyzed using dynamical Monte Carlo models for several nanostructure morphologies. Organic vapor phase deposition is used for controlling materials crystallization and film morphology. We improve the exciton diffusion efficiency while maintaining good carrier conduction in a bulk heterojunction solar cell. Further efficiency improvement is obtained in a novel nanocrystalline network structure with a thick absorbing layer, leading to the demonstration of an organic solar cell with 4.6% efficiency. In addition, solar cells using simultaneously active heterojunctions with broad spectral response are presented. We also analyze the efficiency limits of single and multiple junction organic solar cells, and discuss the challenges facing their practical implementations.

Light-Induced Degradation of Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamelmann, F U; Weicht, J A; Behrens, G

2016-01-01

Silicon-wafer based solar cells are still domination the market for photovoltaic energy conversion. However, most of the silicon is used only for mechanical stability, while only a small percentage of the material is needed for the light absorption. Thin film silicon technology reduces the material demand to just some hundred nanometer thickness. But even in a tandem stack (amorphous and microcrystalline silicon) the efficiencies are lower, and light-induced degradation is an important issue. The established standard tests for characterisation are not precise enough to predict the performance of thin film silicon solar cells under real conditions, since many factors do have an influence on the degradation. We will show some results of laboratory and outdoor measurements that we are going to use as a base for advanced modelling and simulation methods. (paper)

Broadband back grating design for thin film solar cells

KAUST Repository

Janjua, Bilal; Jabbour, Ghassan E.

2013-01-01

In this paper, design based on tapered circular grating structure was studied, to provide broadband enhancement in thin film amorphous silicon solar cells. In comparison to planar structure an absorption enhancement of ~ 7% was realized.

Printed organic thin-film transistor-based integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandal, Saumen; Noh, Yong-Young

2015-01-01

Organic electronics is moving ahead on its journey towards reality. However, this technology will only be possible when it is able to meet specific criteria including flexibility, transparency, disposability and low cost. Printing is one of the conventional techniques to deposit thin films from solution-based ink. It is used worldwide for visual modes of information, and it is now poised to enter into the manufacturing processes of various consumer electronics. The continuous progress made in the field of functional organic semiconductors has achieved high solubility in common solvents as well as high charge carrier mobility, which offers ample opportunity for organic-based printed integrated circuits. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of all-printed organic thin-film transistor-based integrated circuits, mainly ring oscillators. First, the necessity of all-printed organic integrated circuits is discussed; we consider how the gap between printed electronics and real applications can be bridged. Next, various materials for printed organic integrated circuits are discussed. The features of these circuits and their suitability for electronics using different printing and coating techniques follow. Interconnection technology is equally important to make this product industrially viable; much attention in this review is placed here. For high-frequency operation, channel length should be sufficiently small; this could be achievable with a combination of surface treatment-assisted printing or laser writing. Registration is also an important issue related to printing; the printed gate should be perfectly aligned with the source and drain to minimize parasitic capacitances. All-printed organic inverters and ring oscillators are discussed here, along with their importance. Finally, future applications of all-printed organic integrated circuits are highlighted. (paper)

Advances in copper-chalcopyrite thin films for solar energy conversion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaneshiro, Jess; Gaillard, Nicolas; Rocheleau, Richard; Miller, Eric [Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1680 East-West Road, Post 109, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

2010-01-15

Promising alternatives to crystalline silicon as the basic building block of solar cells include copper-chalcopyrite thin films such as copper indium gallium diselenide, a class of thin films exhibiting bandgap-tunable semiconductor behavior, direct bandgaps and high absorption coefficients. These properties allow for the development of novel solar-energy conversion configurations like ultra-high efficiency multi-junction solar cells utilizing combinations of photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical junctions for hydrogen production. This paper discusses the current worldwide status as well as the development and optimization of copper-chalcopyrite thin films deposited onto various substrate types for different photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical applications at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute. (author)

Sputtered molybdenum thin films and the application in CIGS solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, D.; Zhu, H., E-mail: hongbing1982@hotmail.com; Liang, X.; Zhang, C.; Li, Z.; Xu, Y.; Chen, J.; Zhang, L.; Mai, Y., E-mail: yaohuamai@hbu.edu.cn

2016-01-30

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Mo thin films are prepared by magnetron sputtering. • The dynamic deposition rate increases with the increasing discharge power. • The surface structure of Mo films varies with discharge power and working pressure. • High efficiency CIGS thin film solar cell of 15.2% has been obtained. - Abstract: Molybdenum (Mo) thin films are prepared by magnetron sputtering with different discharge powers and working pressures for the application in Cu(In, Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) thin film solar cells as back electrodes. Properties of these Mo thin films are systematically investigated. It is found that the dynamic deposition rate increases with the increasing discharge power while decreases with the increasing working pressure. The highest dynamic deposition rate of 15.1 nm m/min is achieved for the Mo thin film deposited at the discharge power of 1200 W and at the working pressure of 0.15 Pa. The achieved lowest resistivity of 3.7 × 10{sup −5} Ω cm is attributed to the large grains in the compact thin film. The discharge power and working pressure have great influence on the sputtered Mo thin films. High efficiency of 12.5% was achieved for the Cu(In, Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) thin film solar cells with Mo electrodes prepared at 1200 W and low working pressures. By further optimizing material and device properties, the conversion efficiency has reached to 15.2%.

Thin film CIGS solar cells with a novel low cost process - Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiwari, A. N.; Romanyuk, Y.

2010-01-15

Novel manufacturing routes for efficient and low-cost Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (called CIGS) thin film solar cells are explored and patented. CIGS has proven its suitability for highly efficient and extremely stable solar cells. The low-cost methods allow impurity free material synthesis, fast large-area deposition, high material utilization and a very short energy payback time with drastically lower manufacturing costs. Two non-vacuum, solution-based approaches are investigated to deposit thin layers of CIGS. The first approach considers incorporation of copper into indium gallium selenide precursor layers by ion-exchange from aqueous or organic solutions. Organic solutions provide faster copper incorporation and do not corrode the metal back contact. Solar cells processed from selenized precursor films exhibit efficiencies of up to 4.1%. The second approach with paste coating of inorganic salt solution results in a solar cell efficiency of 4% (record 6.7%), where further improvements are hindered by the presence of the residual carbon layer. Using alternative organic binders, pre-deposited selenium layers, non-binder recipes helps to avoid the carbon layer although the obtained layers are inhomogeneous and contain impurity phases. A patent for the ion-exchange approach is pending, and the obtained research results on the paste coating approach will be scrutinized during new European FP7 project 'NOVA-CIGS'. (authors)

Synthesis and characterization of copper antimony tin sulphide thin films for solar cell applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ali, N., E-mail: nisar.ali@utm.my [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, 81310 Johor (Malaysia); Department of Physics, Govt. Post Graduate Jehanzeb College Saidu Sharif, Swat, 19200 (Pakistan); Hussain, A. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, 81310 Johor (Malaysia); Ahmed, R., E-mail: rashidahmed@utm.my [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, 81310 Johor (Malaysia); Wan Shamsuri, W.N. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Skudai, 81310 Johor (Malaysia); Fu, Y.Q., E-mail: richard.fu@northumbria.ac.uk [Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Environment, University of Northumbria, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST (United Kingdom)

2016-12-30

Highlights: • A new and novel material for solar cell applications is demonstrated as a replacement for toxic and expansive compounds. • The materials used in this compound are abundant and low cost. • Compound exhibit unusual optical and electrical properties. • The band gap was found to be comparable with that of GaAs. - Abstract: Low price thin film modules based on Copper antimony tin sulphide (CATS) are introduced for solar harvesting to compete for the already developed compound semiconductors. Here, CATS thin films were deposited on soda lime glass by thermal evaporation technique followed by a rapid thermal annealing in an argon atmosphere. From Our XRD analysis, it was revealed that the annealed samples were poly-crystalline and their crystallinity was improved with increasing annealing temperature. The constituent elements and their corresponding chemical states were identified using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The obtained optical band gap of 1.4 eV for CATS thin film is found nearly equal to GaAs – one of the highly efficient thin film material for solar cell technology. Furthermore, our observed good optical absorbance and low transmittance for the annealed CATS thin films in the visible region of light spectrum assured the aptness of the CATS thin films for solar cell applications.

Thin film solar cells: research in an industrial perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Edoff, Marika

2012-01-01

Electricity generation by photovoltaic conversion of sunlight is a technology in strong growth. The thin film technology is taking market share from the dominant silicon wafer technology. In this article, the market for photovoltaics is reviewed, the concept of photovoltaic solar energy conversion is discussed and more details are given about the present technological limitations of thin film solar cell technology. Special emphasis is given for solar cells which employ Cu(In,Ga)Se(2) and Cu(2)ZnSn(S,Se)(4) as the sunlight-absorbing layer.

Thin films of metal-organic compounds and metal nanoparticle

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Thin films of metal-organic compounds and metal nanoparticle-embedded polymers for nonlinear optical applications. S Philip Anthony Shatabdi Porel D ... Thin films based on two very different metal-organic systems are developed and some nonlinear optical applications are explored. A family of zinc complexes which ...

High efficiency thin-film solar cells for space applications: challenges and opportunities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leest, R.H. van

2017-01-01

In theory high efficiency thin-film III-V solar cells obtained by the epitaxial lift-off (ELO) technique offer excellent characteristics for application in space solar panels. The thesis describes several studies that investigate the space compatibility of the thin-film solar cell design developed

Large Area Thin Film Silicon: Synergy between Displays and Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schropp, R.E.I.

2012-01-01

Thin-film silicon technology has changed our society, owing to the rapid advance of its two major application fields in communication (thin-film displays) and sustainable energy (thin-film solar cells). Throughout its development, advances in these application fields have always benefitted each

Characterization of thin-film silicon materials and solar cells through numerical modeling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieters, B.E.

2008-01-01

At present most commercially available solar cells are made of crystalline silicon (c-Si). The disadvantages of crystalline silicon solar cells are the high material cost and energy consumption during production. A cheaper alternative can be found in thin-film silicon solar cells. The thin-film

Solar selective performance of metal nitride/oxynitride based magnetron sputtered thin film coatings: a comprehensive review

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Khalil; Taha, Hatem; Mahbubur Rahman, M.; Kabir, Humayun; Jiang, Zhong-Tao

2018-03-01

Since solar-thermal collectors are considered to be the most direct way of converting solar energy into usable forms, in the last few years growing attention has been paid to the development of transition metal nitride and metal oxynitride based thin film selective surfaces for solar-thermal collectors, in order to harvest more solar energy. A solar-thermal energy system, generally, shows very high solar absorption of incident solar radiation from the solar-thermal collectors in the visible range (0.3 to 2.5 μm) and extremely low thermal losses through emission (or high reflection) in the infrared region (≥2.5 μm). The efficiency of a solar-thermal energy conversion system can be improved by the use of solar selective surfaces consisting of novel metallic nanoparticles embedded in metal nitride/oxynitride systems. In order to enhance the effectiveness of solar-thermal devices, solar selective surfaces with high thermal stability are a prerequisite. Over the years, substantial efforts have been made in the field of solar selective surfaces to attain higher solar absorptance and lower thermal emittance in high temperature (above 400 °C) applications. In this article, we review the present state-of-the-art transition metal nitride and/or oxynitride based vacuum sputtered nanostructured thin film coatings, with respect to their optical and solar selective surface applications. We have also summarized the solar selectivity data from recently published investigations, including discussion on some potential applications for these materials.

Disorder improves nanophotonic light trapping in thin-film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paetzold, U. W., E-mail: u.paetzold@fz-juelich.de; Smeets, M.; Meier, M.; Bittkau, K.; Merdzhanova, T.; Smirnov, V.; Carius, R.; Rau, U. [IEK5—Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Michaelis, D.; Waechter, C. [Fraunhofer Institut für Angewandte Optik und Feinmechanik, Albert Einstein Str. 7, D-07745 Jena (Germany)

2014-03-31

We present a systematic experimental study on the impact of disorder in advanced nanophotonic light-trapping concepts of thin-film solar cells. Thin-film solar cells made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon were prepared on imprint-textured glass superstrates. For periodically textured superstrates of periods below 500 nm, the nanophotonic light-trapping effect is already superior to state-of-the-art randomly textured front contacts. The nanophotonic light-trapping effect can be associated to light coupling to leaky waveguide modes causing resonances in the external quantum efficiency of only a few nanometer widths for wavelengths longer than 500 nm. With increasing disorder of the nanotextured front contact, these resonances broaden and their relative altitude decreases. Moreover, overall the external quantum efficiency, i.e., the light-trapping effect, increases incrementally with increasing disorder. Thereby, our study is a systematic experimental proof that disorder is conceptually an advantage for nanophotonic light-trapping concepts employing grating couplers in thin-film solar cells. The result is relevant for the large field of research on nanophotonic light trapping in thin-film solar cells which currently investigates and prototypes a number of new concepts including disordered periodic and quasi periodic textures.

InGaN-based thin film solar cells: Epitaxy, structural design, and photovoltaic properties

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Liwen; Liao, Meiyong; Koide, Yasuo; Sumiya, Masatomo

2015-03-01

InxGa1-xN, with the tunable direct bandgaps from ultraviolet to near infrared region, offers a promising candidate for the high-efficiency next-generation thin-film photovoltaic applications. Although the adoption of thick InGaN film as the active region is desirable to obtain efficient light absorption and carrier collection compared to InGaN/GaN quantum wells structure, the understanding on the effect from structural design is still unclear due to the poor-quality InGaN films with thickness and difficulty of p-type doping. In this paper, we comprehensively investigate the effects from film epitaxy, doping, and device structural design on the performances of the InGaN-based solar cells. The high-quality InGaN thick film is obtained on AlN/sapphire template, and p-In0.08Ga0.92N is achieved with a high hole concentration of more than 1018 cm-3. The dependence of the photovoltaic performances on different structures, such as active regions and p-type regions is analyzed with respect to the carrier transport mechanism in the dark and under illumination. The strategy of improving the p-i interface by using a super-thin AlN interlayer is provided, which successfully enhances the performance of the solar cells.

Incorporation of Kojic Acid-Azo Dyes on TiO2 Thin Films for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolynne Zie Wei Sie

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Sensitization of heavy metal free organic dyes onto TiO2 thin films has gained much attention in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs. A series of new kojic acid based organic dyes KA1–4 were synthesized via nucleophilic substitution of azobenzene bearing different vinyl chains A1–4 with kojyl chloride 4. Azo dyes KA1–4 were characterized for photophysical properties employing absorption spectrometry and photovoltaic characteristic in TiO2 thin film. The presence of vinyl chain in A1–4 improved the photovoltaic performance from 0.20 to 0.60%. The introduction of kojic acid obtained from sago waste further increases the efficiency to 0.82–1.54%. Based on photovoltaic performance, KA4 achieved the highest solar to electrical energy conversion efficiency (η = 1.54% in the series.

In and Ga Codoped ZnO Film as a Front Electrode for Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duy Phong Pham

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Doped ZnO thin films have attracted much attention in the research community as front-contact transparent conducting electrodes in thin film silicon solar cells. The prerequisite in both low resistivity and high transmittance in visible and near-infrared region for hydrogenated microcrystalline or amorphous/microcrystalline tandem thin film silicon solar cells has promoted further improvements of this material. In this work, we propose the combination of major Ga and minor In impurities codoped in ZnO film (IGZO to improve the film optoelectronic properties. A wide range of Ga and In contents in sputtering targets was explored to find optimum optical and electrical properties of deposited films. The results show that an appropriate combination of In and Ga atoms in ZnO material, followed by in-air thermal annealing process, can enhance the crystallization, conductivity, and transmittance of IGZO thin films, which can be well used as front-contact electrodes in thin film silicon solar cells.

Photoconductivity of thin organic films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tkachenko, Nikolai V.; Chukharev, Vladimir; Kaplas, Petra; Tolkki, Antti; Efimov, Alexander; Haring, Kimmo; Viheriaelae, Jukka; Niemi, Tapio; Lemmetyinen, Helge

2010-01-01

Thin organic films were deposited on silicon oxide surfaces with golden interdigitated electrodes (interelectrode gap was 2 μm), and the film resistivities were measured in dark and under white light illumination. The compounds selected for the measurements include molecules widely used in solar cell applications, such as polythiophene (PHT), fullerene (C 60 ), pyrelene tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), as well as molecules potentially interesting for photovoltaic applications, e.g. porphyrin-fullerene dyads. The films were deposited using thermal evaporation (e.g. for C 60 and CuPc films), spin coating for PHT, and Langmuir-Schaeffer for the layer-by-layer deposition of porphyrin-fullerene dyads. The most conducting materials in the series are films of PHT and CuPc with resistivities 1.2 x 10 3 Ω m and 3 x 10 4 Ω m, respectively. Under light illumination resistivity of all films decreases, with the strongest light effect observed for PTCDI, for which resistivity decreases by 100 times, from 3.2 x 10 8 Ω m in dark to 3.1 x 10 6 Ω m under the light.

Rapid fabrication of mesoporous TiO2 thin films by pulsed fibre laser for dye sensitized solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Hadi, Aseel; Alhabradi, Mansour; Chen, Qian; Liu, Hong; Guo, Wei; Curioni, Michele; Cernik, Robert; Liu, Zhu

2018-01-01

In this paper we demonstrate for the first time that a fibre laser with a wavelength of 1070 nm and a pulse width of milliseconds can be applied to generate mesoporous nanocrystalline (nc) TiO2 thin films on ITO coated glass in ambient atmosphere, by complete vaporisation of organic binder and inter-connection of TiO2 nanoparticles, without thermally damaging the ITO layer and the glass substrate. The fabrication of the mesoporous TiO2 thin films was achieved by stationary laser beam irradiation of 1 min. The dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with the laser-sintered TiO2 photoanode reached higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.20% for the TiO2 film thickness of 6 μm compared with 2.99% for the furnace-sintered. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies revealed that the laser sintering under the optimised condition effectively decreased charge transfer resistance and increased electron lifetime of the TiO2 thin films. The use of the fibre laser with over 40% wall-plug efficiency offers an economically-feasible, industrial viable solution to the major challenge of rapid fabrication of large scale, mass production of mesoporous metal oxide thin film based solar energy systems, potentially for perovskite and monolithic tandem solar cells, in the future.

Characterization of Nanocrystalline SiGe Thin Film Solar Cell with Double Graded-Dead Absorption Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao-Chun Wang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The nanocrystalline silicon-germanium (nc-SiGe thin films were deposited by high-frequency (27.12 MHz plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HF-PECVD. The films were used in a silicon-based thin film solar cell with graded-dead absorption layer. The characterization of the nc-SiGe films are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy. The band gap of SiGe alloy can be adjusted between 0.8 and 1.7 eV by varying the gas ratio. For thin film solar cell application, using double graded-dead i-SiGe layers mainly leads to an increase in short-circuit current and therefore cell conversion efficiency. An initial conversion efficiency of 5.06% and the stabilized efficiency of 4.63% for an nc-SiGe solar cell were achieved.

P-doped strontium titanate grown using two target pulsed laser deposition for thin film solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Man, Hamdi

Thin-film solar cells made of Mg-doped SrTiO3 p-type absorbers are promising candidates for clean energy generation. This material shows p-type conductivity and also demonstrates reasonable absorption of light. In addition, p-type SrTiO3 can be deposited as thin films so that the cost can be lower than the competing methods. In this work, Mg-doped SrTiO3 (STO) thin-films were synthesized and analyzed in order to observe their potential to be employed as the base semiconductor in photovoltaic applications. Mg-doped STO thin-films were grown by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using a frequency quadrupled Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) laser and with a substrate that was heated by back surface absorption of infrared (IR) laser light. The samples were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and it was observed that Mg atoms were doped successfully in the stoichiometry. Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) spectroscopy proved that the thin films were polycrystalline. Kelvin Probe work function measurements indicated that the work function of the films were 4.167 eV after annealing. UV/Vis Reflection spectroscopy showed that Mg-doped STO thin-films do not reflect significantly except in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum where the reflection percentage increased up to 80%. Self-doped STO thin-films, Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) thin films and stainless steel foil (SSF) were studied in order to observe their characteristics before employing them in Mg-doped STO based solar cells. Self-doped STO thin films were grown using PLD and the results showed that they are capable of serving as the n-type semiconductor in solar cell applications with oxygen vacancies in their structure and low reflectivity. Indium Tin Oxide thin-films grown by PLD system showed low 25-50 ?/square sheet resistance and very low reflection features. Finally, commercially available stainless steel foil substrates were excellent substrates for the inexpensive growth of

Crystalline silicon thin film growth by ECR plasma CVD for solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Licai Wang

1999-07-01

This thesis describes the background, motivation and work carried out towards this PhD programme entitled 'Crystalline Silicon Thin Film Growth by ECR Plasma CVD for Solar Cells'. The fundamental principles of silicon solar cells are introduced with a review of silicon thin film and bulk solar cells. The development and prospects for thin film silicon solar cells are described. Some results of a modelling study on thin film single crystalline solar cells are given which has been carried out using a commercially available solar cell simulation package (PC-1D). This is followed by a description of thin film deposition techniques. These include Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) and Plasma-Assisted CVD (PACVD). The basic theory and technology of the emerging technique of Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) PACVD, which was used in this research, are introduced and the potential advantages summarised. Some of the basic methods of material and cell characterisation are briefly described, together with the work carried out in this research. The growth by ECR PACVD at temperatures 2 illumination. The best efficiency in the ECR grown structures was 13.76% using an epitaxial emitter. Cell performance was analysed in detail and the factors controlling performance identified by fitting self-consistently the fight and dark current-voltage and spectral response data using PC-1D. Finally, the conclusions for this research and suggestions for further work are outlined. (author)

InGaN-based thin film solar cells: Epitaxy, structural design, and photovoltaic properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sang, Liwen, E-mail: SANG.Liwen@nims.go.jp [International Center for Material Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan); JST-PRESTO, The Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo 102-0076 (Japan); Liao, Meiyong; Koide, Yasuo [Wide Bandgap Materials Group, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan); Sumiya, Masatomo [Wide Bandgap Materials Group, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044 (Japan); JST-ALCA, The Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo 102-0076 (Japan)

2015-03-14

In{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N, with the tunable direct bandgaps from ultraviolet to near infrared region, offers a promising candidate for the high-efficiency next-generation thin-film photovoltaic applications. Although the adoption of thick InGaN film as the active region is desirable to obtain efficient light absorption and carrier collection compared to InGaN/GaN quantum wells structure, the understanding on the effect from structural design is still unclear due to the poor-quality InGaN films with thickness and difficulty of p-type doping. In this paper, we comprehensively investigate the effects from film epitaxy, doping, and device structural design on the performances of the InGaN-based solar cells. The high-quality InGaN thick film is obtained on AlN/sapphire template, and p-In{sub 0.08}Ga{sub 0.92}N is achieved with a high hole concentration of more than 10{sup 18 }cm{sup −3}. The dependence of the photovoltaic performances on different structures, such as active regions and p-type regions is analyzed with respect to the carrier transport mechanism in the dark and under illumination. The strategy of improving the p-i interface by using a super-thin AlN interlayer is provided, which successfully enhances the performance of the solar cells.

Morphology dependent dye-sensitized solar cell properties of nanocrystalline zinc oxide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, S.K., E-mail: sanjeevlrs732000@yahoo.co.in [Department of Information and Communication, Cheju Halla College, Jeju City 690 708 (Korea, Republic of); Inamdar, A.I.; Im, Hyunsik [Department of Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University, Seoul 100 715 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, B.G. [Department of Information and Communication, Cheju Halla College, Jeju City 690 708 (Korea, Republic of); Patil, P.S. [Thin Film Materials Laboratory, Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416 004 (India)

2011-02-03

Research highlights: > Nano-crystalline zinc oxide thin films were electrosynthesized from an aqueous zinc acetate [Zn(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O] solution onto FTO coated conducting glass substrates using two different electrochemical routes, namely (i) without an organic surfactant and (ii) with an organic surfactant, viz. PVA (poly-vinyl alcohol) or SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate). > The reproducibility of the catalytic activity of the SDS and PVA surfactants in the modification of the morphologies was observed. > Vertically aligned nest-like and compact structures were observed from the SDS and PVA mediated films, respectively, while the grain size in the ZnO thin films without an organic surfactant was observed to be {approx}150 nm. > The dye sensitized ZnO electrodes displayed excellent properties in the conversion process from light to electricity. The efficiencies of the surfactant mediated nanocrystalline ZnO thin films, viz. ZnO:SDS and ZnO:PVA, sensitized with ruthenium-II (N3) dye were observed to be 0.49% and 0.27%, respectively. - Abstract: Nano-crystalline zinc oxide thin films were electrosynthesized with an aqueous zinc acetate [Zn(CH{sub 3}COO){sub 2}.2H{sub 2}O] solution on to FTO coated glass substrates. Two different electrochemical baths were used, namely (i) without an organic surfactant and (ii) with an organic surfactant, viz. PVA (poly-vinyl alcohol) and SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate). The organic surfactants played an important role in modifying the surface morphology, which influenced the size of the crystallites and dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) properties. The vertically aligned thin and compact hexagonal crystallites were observed with SDS mediated films, while the grain size in the films without an organic surfactant was observed to be {approx}150 nm. The conversion efficiencies of the ZnO:SDS:Dye and ZnO:PVA:Dye thin films were observed to be 0.49% and 0.27%, respectively.

Laser Welding of Silicon Foils for Thin-Film Solar Cell Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Heßmann, Maik

2014-01-01

Thin-film solar module manufacturing is one of the most promising recent developments in photovoltaic research and has the potential to reduce production costs. As the necessity for competitive prices on the world market increases and manufacturers endeavor to bring down the cost of solar modules, thin-film technology is becoming more and more attractive. In this work a special technique was investigated which makes solar cell manufacturing more compatible with an industrial roll-to-roll proc...

Thin-film encapsulation of organic electronic devices based on vacuum evaporated lithium fluoride as protective buffer layer

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Yingquan; Ding, Sihan; Wen, Zhanwei; Xu, Sunan; Lv, Wenli; Xu, Ziqiang; Yang, Yuhuan; Wang, Ying; Wei, Yi; Tang, Ying

2017-03-01

Encapsulation is indispensable for organic thin-film electronic devices to ensure reliable operation and long-term stability. For thin-film encapsulating organic electronic devices, insulating polymers and inorganic metal oxides thin films are widely used. However, spin-coating of insulating polymers directly on organic electronic devices may destroy or introduce unwanted impurities in the underlying organic active layers. And also, sputtering of inorganic metal oxides may damage the underlying organic semiconductors. Here, we demonstrated that by utilizing vacuum evaporated lithium fluoride (LiF) as protective buffer layer, spin-coated insulating polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and sputtered inorganic material Er2O3, can be successfully applied for thin film encapsulation of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)-based organic diodes. By encapsulating with LiF/PVA/LiF trilayer and LiF/Er2O3 bilayer films, the device lifetime improvements of 10 and 15 times can be achieved. These methods should be applicable for thin-film encapsulation of all kinds of organic electronic devices. Moisture-induced hole trapping, and Al top electrode oxidation are suggest to be the origins of current decay for the LiF/PVA/LiF trilayer and LiF/Er2O3 bilayer films encapsulated devices, respectively.

Non-toxic and environmentally friendly route for preparation of copper indium sulfide based thin film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sankir, Nurdan Demirci, E-mail: nsankir@etu.edu.tr; Aydin, Erkan; Ugur, Esma; Sankir, Mehmet

2015-08-15

Highlights: • Substrate structure of spray pyrolyzed CuInS{sub 2}/In{sub 2}S{sub 3} heterojunction solar cells. • Low cost and environmentally friendly fabrication of CuInS{sub 2} based solar cells. • Low RF power deposition of TCO layer. • AZO–Ag–AZO sandwich structure. • Effect of the thickness of buffer layer on the photovoltaic performance. - Abstract: In this study, copper based thin film solar cells with substrate structure have been built via spray pyrolysis method. Toxic material usage was avoided during the material deposition and the post-treatment steps. Novel device configuration of Mo/CuInS{sub 2}/In{sub 2}S{sub 3}/ZnO/AZO–Ag–AZO was studied as a function of the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} buffer layer thickness. In order to utilize the zinc oxide (ZnO) and aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) transparent conductive layers, deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD), on top of the spray pyrolyzed thin films, the RF power was lowered to 30 W. Although this minimized the unwanted penetration of the highly energetic particles, created during PVD process, sheet resistivity of the AZO films increased enormously. Hence very thin silver layer has been deposited between two AZO films. This resulted the decrease in the sheet resistivity more than 10{sup 6} times. Electrical measurements under illumination revealed that short circuit current density (J{sub sc}), open circuit voltage (V{sub oc}), fill factor (FF) and efficiency (η) of the Mo/CuInS{sub 2}/In{sub 2}S{sub 3}/ZnO/AZO–Ag–AZO type solar cells increased with increasing the thickness of the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} layer. The maximum J{sub sc} of 9.20 mA/cm{sup 2}, V{sub oc} of 0.43 V, FF of 0.44 have been observed for the 0.94 μm-thick In{sub 2}S{sub 3} layer. Extraordinarily thick buffer layer provided better diffusion barrier between the absorber and the TCO layers and also resulted better photosensitivity. These could be the key factors to produce substrate configuration of the spray pyrolyzed

A Method for Absolute Determination of the Surface Areal Density of Functional Groups in Organic Thin Films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Min, Hyegeun; Son, Jin Gyeong; Kim, Jeong Won; Yu, Hyunung; Lee, Tae Geol; Moon, Dae Won [Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-03-15

To develop a methodology for absolute determination of the surface areal density of functional groups on organic and bio thin films, medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) spectroscopy was utilized to provide references for calibration of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) or Fourier transformation-infrared (FT-IR) intensities. By using the MEIS, XPS, and FT-IR techniques, we were able to analyze the organic thin film of a Ru dye compound (C{sub 58}H{sub 86}O{sub 8}N{sub 8}S{sub 2}Ru), which consists of one Ru atom and various stoichiometric functional groups. From the MEIS analysis, the absolute surface areal density of Ru atoms (or Ru dye molecules) was determined. The surface areal densities of stoichiometric functional groups in the Ru dye compound were used as references for the calibration of XPS and FT-IR intensities for each functional group. The complementary use of MEIS, XPS, and FT-IR to determine the absolute surface areal density of functional groups on organic and bio thin films will be useful for more reliable development of applications based on organic thin films in areas such as flexible displays, solar cells, organic sensors, biomaterials, and biochips.

Plasma monitoring and PECVD process control in thin film silicon-based solar cell manufacturing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Onno

2014-02-01

Full Text Available A key process in thin film silicon-based solar cell manufacturing is plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD of the active layers. The deposition process can be monitored in situ by plasma diagnostics. Three types of complementary diagnostics, namely optical emission spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and non-linear extended electron dynamics are applied to an industrial-type PECVD reactor. We investigated the influence of substrate and chamber wall temperature and chamber history on the PECVD process. The impact of chamber wall conditioning on the solar cell performance is demonstrated.

Development of CIGS2 thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhere, Neelkanth G.; Gade, Vivek S.; Kadam, Ankur A.; Jahagirdar, Anant H.; Kulkarni, Sachin S.; Bet, Sachin M.

2005-01-01

Research and development of CuIn 1-x Ga x Se 2-y S y (CIGSS) thin-film solar cells on ultralightweight flexible metallic foil substrates is being carried out at FSEC PV Materials Lab for space applications. Earlier, the substrate size was limited to 3 cm x 2.5 cm. Large-area sputtering systems and scrubber for hydrogen selenide and sulfide have been designed and constructed for preparation of CIGSS thin-films on large (15 cm x 10 cm) substrates. A selenization/sulfurization furnace donated by Shell (formerly Siemens) Solar has also been refurbished and upgraded. The sputtering target assembly design was modified for proper clamping of targets and effective cooling. A new design of the magnetic assembly for large-area magnetron sputtering sources was implemented so as to achieve uniform deposition on large area. Lightweight stainless steel foil and ultralightweight titanium foil substrates were utilized to increase the specific power of solar cells. Sol-gel derived SiO 2 layers were coated on titanium foil by dip coating method. Deposition parameters for the preparation of molybdenum back contact layers were optimized so as to minimize the residual stress as well as reaction with H 2 S. Presently large (15 cm x 10 cm) CuIn 1-x Ga x S 2 (CIGS2) thin film solar cells are being prepared on Mo-coated titanium and stainless steel foil by sulfurization of CuGa/In metallic precursors in diluted Ar:H 2 S(4%). Heterojunction partner CdS layers are deposited by chemical bath deposition. The regeneration sequence of ZnO/ZnO:Al targets was optimized for obtaining consistently good-quality, transparent and conducting ZnO/ZnO:Al bilayer by RF magnetron-sputter deposition. Excellent facilities at FSEC PV Materials Lab are one of its kinds and could serve as a nucleus of a small pilot plant for CIGSS thin film solar cell fabrication

Chemical bath deposition of thin semiconductor films for use as buffer layers in CuInS2 thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, C.A.

2002-01-01

A CulnS 2 thin film solar cell is a multilayered semiconductor device. The solar cells discussed have a layer sequence Mo/CulnS 2 /buffer/i-ZnO/ZnO:Ga, where a heterojunction establishes between the p-type absorber and the n-type front contact. Conventionally the buffer consists of CdS, deposited by chemical bath deposition (CBD). Apart from providing process oriented benefits the buffer layer functions as a tool for engineering the energy band line-up at the heterojunction interface. Motivated through environmental concern and EU legislation it is felt necessary to substitute this potentially toxic layer by an alternative, Cd-free component. This thesis investigates the suitability of various Zn- and In-compounds, in particular In(OH,O) x S y , as alternative buffer layer materials using CBD. Initial experiments were carried out depositing Zn-based compounds from aqueous solutions. Characterization of the layers, the solution and the processed solar cells was performed. This thesis focuses on the investigation of the CBD process chemistry for the deposition of In-compound thin films. A careful study of the morphology and composition of the deposited thin films was conducted using electron microscopy (SEM, HREM), elastic recoil detection analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and optical transmission spectroscopy. This allowed conclusions concerning the nucleation and film growth mechanism from the chemical bath. Connections between bath chemistry, different growth phases, layer morphology and solar cell performance were sought and an improved deposition process was developed. As a result, Cd-free CulnS 2 thin film solar cells with efficiencies of up to 10.6%) (total area) could be produced. Overall the substitution of CdS is shown to be possible by different alternative compounds, such as Zn(OH,O) x S y or In(OH,O) x S y . In the case of In(OH,O) x S y , an understanding of the CBD process and the effect of different growth phases on the resulting solar cell

Indium sulfide thin films as window layer in chemically deposited solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lugo-Loredo, S. [Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL, Fac. de Ciencias Químicas, Av. Universidad S/N Ciudad Universitaria San Nicolás de Los Garza Nuevo León, C.P. 66451 (Mexico); Peña-Méndez, Y., E-mail: yolapm@gmail.com [Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL, Fac. de Ciencias Químicas, Av. Universidad S/N Ciudad Universitaria San Nicolás de Los Garza Nuevo León, C.P. 66451 (Mexico); Calixto-Rodriguez, M. [Universidad Tecnológica Emiliano Zapata del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad Tecnológica No. 1, C.P. 62760 Emiliano Zapata, Morelos (Mexico); Messina-Fernández, S. [Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit, Ciudad de la Cultura “Amado Nervo” S/N, C.P. 63190 Tepic, Nayarit (Mexico); Alvarez-Gallegos, A. [Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Av. Universidad 1001, C.P. 62209, Cuernavaca Morelos (Mexico); Vázquez-Dimas, A.; Hernández-García, T. [Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, UANL, Fac. de Ciencias Químicas, Av. Universidad S/N Ciudad Universitaria San Nicolás de Los Garza Nuevo León, C.P. 66451 (Mexico)

2014-01-01

Indium sulfide (In{sub 2}S{sub 3}) thin films have been synthesized by chemical bath deposition technique onto glass substrates using In(NO{sub 3}){sub 3} as indium precursor and thioacetamide as sulfur source. X-ray diffraction studies have shown that the crystalline state of the as-prepared and the annealed films is β-In{sub 2}S{sub 3}. Optical band gap values between 2.27 and 2.41 eV were obtained for these films. The In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films are photosensitive with an electrical conductivity value in the range of 10{sup −3}–10{sup −7} (Ω cm){sup −1}, depending on the film preparation conditions. We have demonstrated that the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films obtained in this work are suitable candidates to be used as window layer in thin film solar cells. These films were integrated in SnO{sub 2}:F/In{sub 2}S{sub 3}/Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3}/PbS/C–Ag solar cell structures, which showed an open circuit voltage of 630 mV and a short circuit current density of 0.6 mA/cm{sup 2}. - Highlights: • In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films were deposited using the Chemical Bath Deposition technique. • A direct energy band gap between 2.41 to 2.27 eV was evaluated for the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} films. • We made chemically deposited solar cells using the In{sub 2}S{sub 3} thin films.

Silicon solar cell performance deposited by diamond like carbon thin film ;Atomic oxygen effects;

Science.gov (United States)

Aghaei, Abbas Ail; Eshaghi, Akbar; Karami, Esmaeil

2017-09-01

In this research, a diamond-like carbon thin film was deposited on p-type polycrystalline silicon solar cell via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method by using methane and hydrogen gases. The effect of atomic oxygen on the functioning of silicon coated DLC thin film and silicon was investigated. Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the DLC thin film. Photocurrent-voltage characteristics of the silicon solar cell were carried out using a solar simulator. The results showed that atomic oxygen exposure induced the including oxidation, structural changes, cross-linking reactions and bond breaking of the DLC film; thus reducing the optical properties. The photocurrent-voltage characteristics showed that although the properties of the fabricated thin film were decreased after being exposed to destructive rays, when compared with solar cell without any coating, it could protect it in atomic oxygen condition enhancing solar cell efficiency up to 12%. Thus, it can be said that diamond-like carbon thin layer protect the solar cell against atomic oxygen exposure.

Enhanced chemical sensing organic thin-film transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Tanese, M. C.; Torsi, L.; Farinola, G. M.; Valli, L.; Hassan Omar, O.; Giancane, G.; Ieva, E.; Babudri, F.; Palmisano, F.; Naso, F.; Zambonin, P. G.

2007-09-01

Organic thin film transistor (OTFT) sensors are capable of fast, sensitive and reliable detection of a variety of analytes. They have been successfully tested towards many chemical and biological "odor" molecules showing high selectivity, and displaying the additional advantage of being compatible with plastic technologies. Their versatility is based on the possibility to control the device properties, from molecular design up to device architecture. Here phenylene-thiophene based organic semiconductors functionalized with ad hoc chosen side groups are used as active layers in sensing OTFTs. These materials, indeed, combine the detection capability of organic molecules (particularly in the case of bio-substituted systems) with the electronic properties of the conjugated backbone. A new OTFT structure including Langmuir-Schäfer layer by layer organic thin films is here proposed to perform chemical detection of organic vapors, including vapor phase chiral molecules such as citronellol vapors, with a detection limit in the ppm range. Thermally evaporated α6T based OTFT sensors are used as well to be employed as standard system in order to compare sensors performances.

Ion beam analysis of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karydas, A.G. [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), IAEA Laboratories, Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory, A-2444 Seibersdorf (Austria); Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics, NCSR “Demokritos”, 153 10 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens Greece (Greece); Streeck, C. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestr. 2-12, 10587 Berlin (Germany); Radovic, I. Bogdanovic [Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI), Zagreb (Croatia); Kaufmann, C.; Rissom, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB), Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Beckhoff, B. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestr. 2-12, 10587 Berlin (Germany); Jaksic, M. [Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI), Zagreb (Croatia); Barradas, N.P. [Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, E. N. 10, Apartado 21, 2686-953 Sacavém (Portugal)

2015-11-30

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Elemental depth profiles for various CIGS thin films were quantitatively determined. • Pure absorbers, complete cell and bilayer solar cells were prepared and analyzed. • Synergistic PIXE and RBS analysis of thin solar cells using alpha beam particles. • High energy alpha beam resolved completely the Indium depth profile. • Synchrotron based Reference Free GIXRF quantitative analysis validated IBA results. - Abstract: The present work investigates the potential of ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques such as the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) using helium ions to provide quantitative in-depth elemental analysis of various types of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films. These films with a thickness of about 2 μm are used as absorber layers in photovoltaic devices with continuously increasing the performance of this technology. The preparation process generally aims to obtain an in-depth gradient of In and Ga concentrations that optimizes the optoelectronic and electrical properties of the solar cell. The measurements were performed at directly accessible single or double layered CIGS absorbers and at buried absorbers in completed thin film solar cells. The IBA data were analyzed simultaneously in order to derive best fitted profiles that match all experimental RBS and PIXE spectra. For some samples elemental profiles deduced form synchrotron based, reference free grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence analysis were compared with the IBA results and an overall good agreement was observed within quoted uncertainties.

ANNEALING OF POLYCRYSTALLINE THIN FILM SILICON SOLAR CELLS IN WATER VAPOUR AT SUB-ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Pikna

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Thin film polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si solar cells were annealed in water vapour at pressures below atmospheric pressure. PN junction of the sample was contacted by measuring probes directly in the pressure chamber filled with steam during passivation. Suns-VOC method and a Lock-in detector were used to monitor an effect of water vapour to VOC of the solar cell during whole passivation process (in-situ. Tested temperature of the sample (55°C – 110°C was constant during the procedure. Open-circuit voltage of a solar cell at these temperatures is lower than at room temperature. Nevertheless, voltage response of the solar cell to the light flash used during Suns-VOC measurements was good observable. Temperature dependences for multicrystalline wafer-based and polycrystalline thin film solar cells were measured and compared. While no significant improvement of thin film poly-Si solar cell parameters by annealing in water vapour at under-atmospheric pressures was observed up to now, in-situ observation proved required sensitivity to changing VOC at elevated temperatures during the process.

Research Update: Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP thin films and solar cells by vapor phase reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Po-Shen Shen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available With the rapid progress in deposition techniques for hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP thin films, this new class of photovoltaic (PV technology has achieved material quality and power conversion efficiency comparable to those established technologies. Among the various techniques for HOIP thin films preparation, vapor based deposition technique is considered as a promising alternative process to substitute solution spin-coating method for large-area or scale-up preparation. This technique provides some unique benefits for high-quality perovskite crystallization, which are discussed in this research update.

Ecofriendly and Nonvacuum Electrostatic Spray-Assisted Vapor Deposition of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 Thin Film Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, Md Anower; Wang, Mingqing; Choy, Kwang-Leong

2015-10-14

Chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGSSe) thin films have been deposited by a novel, nonvacuum, and cost-effective electrostatic spray-assisted vapor deposition (ESAVD) method. The generation of a fine aerosol of precursor solution, and their controlled deposition onto a molybdenum substrate, results in adherent, dense, and uniform Cu(In,Ga)S2 (CIGS) films. This is an essential tool to keep the interfacial area of thin film solar cells to a minimum value for efficient charge separation as it helps to achieve the desired surface smoothness uniformity for subsequent cadmium sulfide and window layer deposition. This nonvacuum aerosol based approach for making the CIGSSe film uses environmentally benign precursor solution, and it is cheaper for producing solar cells than that of the vacuum-based thin film solar technology. An optimized CIGSSe thin film solar cell with a device configuration of molybdenum-coated soda-lime glass substrate/CIGSSe/CdS/i-ZnO/AZO shows the photovoltaic (j-V) characteristics of Voc=0.518 V, jsc=28.79 mA cm(-2), fill factor=64.02%, and a promising power conversion efficiency of η=9.55% under simulated AM 1.5 100 mW cm(-2) illuminations, without the use of an antireflection layer. This demonstrates the potential of ESAVD deposition as a promising alternative approach for making thin film CIGSSe solar cells at a lower cost.

Synthesis of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films by a precursor solution paste for thin film solar cell applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Jin Woo; Ismail, Agus; Park, Se Jin; Kim, Woong; Yoon, Sungho; Min, Byoung Koun

2013-05-22

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) is a very promising semiconductor material when used for the absorber layer of thin film solar cells because it consists of only abundant and inexpensive elements. In addition, a low-cost solution process is applicable to the preparation of CZTS absorber films, which reduces the cost when this film is used for the production of thin film solar cells. To fabricate solution-processed CZTS thin film using an easily scalable and relatively safe method, we suggest a precursor solution paste coating method with a two-step heating process (oxidation and sulfurization). The synthesized CZTS film was observed to be composed of grains of a size of ~300 nm, showing an overall densely packed morphology with some pores and voids. A solar cell device with this film as an absorber layer showed the highest efficiency of 3.02% with an open circuit voltage of 556 mV, a short current density of 13.5 mA/cm(2), and a fill factor of 40.3%. We also noted the existence of Cd moieties and an inhomogeneous Zn distribution in the CZTS film, which may have been triggered by the presence of pores and voids in the CZTS film.

Simulated Space Environmental Effects on Thin Film Solar Array Components

Science.gov (United States)

Finckenor, Miria; Carr, John; SanSoucie, Michael; Boyd, Darren; Phillips, Brandon

2017-01-01

The Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and Transceiver (LISA-T) experiment consists of thin-film, low mass, low volume solar panels. Given the variety of thin solar cells and cover materials and the lack of environmental protection typically afforded by thick coverglasses, a series of tests were conducted in Marshall Space Flight Center's Space Environmental Effects Facility to evaluate the performance of these materials. Candidate thin polymeric films and nitinol wires used for deployment were also exposed. Simulated space environment exposures were selected based on SSP 30425 rev. B, "Space Station Program Natural Environment Definition for Design" or AIAA Standard S-111A-2014, "Qualification and Quality Requirements for Space Solar Cells." One set of candidate materials were exposed to 5 eV atomic oxygen and concurrent vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation for low Earth orbit simulation. A second set of materials were exposed to 1 MeV electrons. A third set of samples were exposed to 50, 100, 500, and 700 keV energy protons, and a fourth set were exposed to >2,000 hours of near ultraviolet (NUV) radiation. A final set was rapidly thermal cycled between -55 and +125degC. This test series provides data on enhanced power generation, particularly for small satellites with reduced mass and volume resources. Performance versus mass and cost per Watt is discussed.

Transparent conductive oxides for thin-film silicon solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Löffler, J.

2005-01-01

This thesis describes research on thin-film silicon solar cells with focus on the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) for such devices. In addition to the formation of a transparent and electrically conductive front electrode for the solar cell allowing photocurrent collection with low ohmic losses,

Photon management in thin-film solar cells; Photon-Management in Duennschicht-Solarzellen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fahr, Stephan

2011-11-22

In this thesis procedures were presented, which modify the propagation of the incident light in such a way that by this the efficiency of thin-film solar cells is increased. The strength of the presented numerical studies lies thereby in the rigorous solution of Maxwell's equations. Fundamental statements concerning the lay-out of an ideal texture could be made, which for present thin-film solar cells over the whole relevant spectral range both suppresses reflection losses and leads to an elongation of the effective path. Object of the thesis was also the design of a spectral- and angular-selective filter, which confines the acceptance angle of a solar cell with the aim of an improved absorption in the long-wave spectral region. Furthermore also tandem cells on the base of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon were studied.

Alkali-templated surface nanopatterning of chalcogenide thin films: a novel approach toward solar cells with enhanced efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Reinhard, Patrick; Bissig, Benjamin; Pianezzi, Fabian; Hagendorfer, Harald; Sozzi, Giovanna; Menozzi, Roberto; Gretener, Christina; Nishiwaki, Shiro; Buecheler, Stephan; Tiwari, Ayodhya N

2015-05-13

Concepts of localized contacts and junctions through surface passivation layers are already advantageously applied in Si wafer-based photovoltaic technologies. For Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells, such concepts are generally not applied, especially at the heterojunction, because of the lack of a simple method yielding features with the required size and distribution. Here, we show a novel, innovative surface nanopatterning approach to form homogeneously distributed nanostructures (<30 nm) on the faceted, rough surface of polycrystalline chalcogenide thin films. The method, based on selective dissolution of self-assembled and well-defined alkali condensates in water, opens up new research opportunities toward development of thin film solar cells with enhanced efficiency.

Annealing enhancement effect by light illumination on proton irradiated Cu(In, Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawakita, Shirou; Imaizumi, Mitsuru; Matsuda, Sumio; Yamaguchi, Masafumi; Kushiya, Katsumi; Ohshima, Takeshi; Itoh, Hisayoshi

2002-01-01

In this paper, we investigated the high radiation tolerance of copper indium gallium di-selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells by conducting in situ measurements of short circuit current and open circuit voltage of CIGS thin-film solar cells during and after proton irradiation under short circuit condition. We found that the annealing rate of proton-induced defects in CIGS thin-film solar cells under light illumination with an AM0 solar simulator is higher than that under dark conditions. The activation energy of proton-induced defects in the CIGS thin-film solar cells with (without) light illumination is 0.80 eV (0.92 eV), which implies on enhanced defect annealing rate in CIGS thin-film solar cells due to minority-carrier injection. (author)

Solid-phase crystallization of amorphous silicon on ZnO:Al for thin-film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, C.; Conrad, E.; Dogan, P.; Fenske, F.; Gorka, B.; Haenel, T.; Lee, K.Y.; Rau, B.; Ruske, F.; Weber, T.; Gall, S.; Rech, B. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie (formerly Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin), Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Berginski, M.; Huepkes, J. [Institute of Photovoltaics, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, D-52425 Juelich (Germany)

2009-06-15

The suitability of ZnO:Al thin films for polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film solar cell fabrication was investigated. The electrical and optical properties of 700 -nm-thick ZnO:Al films on glass were analyzed after typical annealing steps occurring during poly-Si film preparation. If the ZnO:Al layer is covered by a 30 nm thin silicon film, the initial sheet resistance of ZnO:Al drops from 4.2 to 2.2 {omega} after 22 h annealing at 600 C and only slightly increases for a 200 s heat treatment at 900 C. A thin-film solar cell concept consisting of poly-Si films on ZnO:Al coated glass is introduced. First solar cell results will be presented using absorber layers either prepared by solid-phase crystallization (SPC) or by direct deposition at 600 C. (author)

On-Orbit Demonstration of a Lithium-Ion Capacitor and Thin-Film Multijunction Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Kukita, Akio; Takahashi, Masato; Shimazaki, Kazunori; Kobayashi, Yuki; Sakai, Tomohiko; Toyota, Hiroyuki; Takahashi, Yu; Murashima, Mio; Uno, Masatoshi; Imaizumi, Mitsuru

2014-08-01

This paper describes an on-orbit demonstration of the Next-generation Small Satellite Instrument for Electric power systems (NESSIE) on which an aluminum- laminated lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) and a lightweight solar panel called KKM-PNL, which has space solar sheets using thin-film multijunction solar cells, were installed. The flight data examined in this paper covers a period of 143 days from launch. We verified the integrity of an LIC constructed using a simple and lightweight mounting method: no significant capacitance reduction was observed. We also confirmed that inverted metamorphic multijunction triple-junction thin-film solar cells used for evaluation were healthy at 143 days after launch, because their degradation almost matched the degradation predictions for dual-junction thin-film solar cells.

Determination and analysis of dispersive optical constants of some organic thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaya, Y.; Taysioglu, A. A.; Peksoez, A.; Irez, G.; Derebasi, N.; Kaynak, G.

2010-01-01

Schiff bases are an important class of ligands in coordination chemistry and find extensive application in different fields. Recently, increased interest in organic thin film materials has arisen due to their extensive applications in the fields of mechanics, flexible electronics and optics. Optoelectronics is the area in which organic films and organic-inorganic nanostructures have found their main applications in the last decade. These organic thin films have been also used in a wide variety of applications such as Schottky diodes, solid state devices and optical sensors. The optical constants (refractive index, n; extinction coefficient, k and dielectric constant, e) of some organic thin films were determined using reflectance and transmittance spectra. Analysis of the basis absorption spectra was also carried out to determine optical band gap (Eg) and Urbach parameter (E0). A surface observation of these thin films was also carried out by an Atomic Force Microscope.

Conductance Thin Film Model of Flexible Organic Thin Film Device using COMSOL Multiphysics

Science.gov (United States)

Carradero-Santiago, Carolyn; Vedrine-Pauléus, Josee

We developed a virtual model to analyze the electrical conductivity of multilayered thin films placed above a graphene conducting and flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The organic layers of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) as a hole conducting layer, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT), as a p-type, phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and as n-type, with aluminum as a top conductor. COMSOL Multiphysics was the software we used to develop the virtual model to analyze potential variations and conductivity through the thin-film layers. COMSOL Multiphysics software allows simulation and modeling of physical phenomena represented by differential equations such as heat transfer, fluid flow, electromagnetism, and structural mechanics. In this work, using the AC/DC, electric currents module we defined the geometry of the model and properties for each of the six layers: PET/graphene/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT/PCBM/aluminum. We analyzed the model with varying thicknesses of graphene and active layers (P3HT/PCBM). This simulation allowed us to analyze the electrical conductivity, and visualize the model with varying voltage potential, or bias across the plates, useful for applications in solar cell devices.

Graphene-based electrodes for enhanced organic thin film transistors based on pentacene.

Science.gov (United States)

Basu, Sarbani; Lee, Mu Chen; Wang, Yeong-Her

2014-08-21

This paper presents 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) and pentacene-based organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) with monolayer graphene source-drain (S-D) electrodes. The electrodes are patterned using conventional photolithographic techniques combined with reactive ion etching. The monolayer graphene film grown by chemical vapor deposition on Cu foil was transferred on a Si dioxide surface using a polymer-supported transfer method to fabricate bottom-gate, bottom-contact OTFTs. The pentacene OTFTs with graphene S-D contacts exhibited superior performance with a mobility of 0.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and an on-off ratio of 10(5) compared with OTFTs with Au-based S-D contacts, which had a mobility of 0.01 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and an on-off ratio of 10(3). The crystallinity, grain size, and microscopic defects (or the number of layers of graphene films) of the TIPS-pentacene/pentacene films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The feasibility of using graphene as an S-D electrode in OTFTs provides an alternative material with high carrier injection efficiency, chemical stability, and excellent interface properties with organic semiconductors, thus exhibiting improved device performance of C-based electronic OTFTs at a reduced cost.

Recent Advances in Organic Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Kietzke

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Solar cells based on organic semiconductors have attracted much attention. The thickness of the active layer of organic solar cells is typically only 100 nm thin, which is about 1000 times thinner than for crystalline silicon solar cells and still 10 times thinner than for current inorganic thin film cells. The low material consumption per area and the easy processing of organic semiconductors offer a huge potential for low cost large area solar cells. However, to compete with inorganic solar cells the efficiency of organic solar cells has to be improved by a factor of 2-3. Several organic semiconducting materials have been investigated so far, but the optimum material still has to be designed. Similar as for organic light emitting devices (OLED small molecules are competing with polymers to become the material of choice. After a general introduction into the device structures and operational principles of organic solar cells the three different basic types (all polymer based, all small molecules based and small molecules mixed with polymers are described in detail in this review. For each kind the current state of research is described and the best of class reported efficiencies are listed.

Band gap grading and photovoltaic performance of solution-processed Cu(In,Ga)S2 thin-film solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, So Hyeong; Han, Noh Soo; Park, Yong Jin; Park, Seung Min; An, Hee Sang; Kim, Dong-Wook; Min, Byoung Koun; Song, Jae Kyu

2014-12-28

The photophysical properties of CuInxGa1-xS2 (CIGS) thin films, prepared by solution-based coating methods, are investigated to understand the correlation between the optical properties of these films and the electrical characteristics of solar cells fabricated using these films. Photophysical properties, such as the depth-dependent band gap and carrier lifetime, turn out to be at play in determining the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells. A double grading of the band gap in CIGS films enhances solar cell efficiency, even when defect states disturb carrier collection by non-radiative decay. The combinational stacking of different density films leads to improved solar cell performance as well as efficient fabrication because a graded band gap and reduced shunt current increase carrier collection efficiency. The photodynamics of minority-carriers suggests that the suppression of defect states is a primary area of improvement in CIGS thin films prepared by solution-based methods.

Photoluminescence, structural and electrical properties of passivated a-Si:H based thin films and corresponding solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pincik, E.; Kobayashi, H.; Takahashi, M.; Fujiwara, N.; Brunner, R.; Gleskova, H.; Jergel, M.; Muellerova, J.; Kucera, M.; Falcony, C.; Ortega, L.; Rusnak, J.; Mikula, M.; Zahoran, M.; Jurani, R.; Kral, M.

2004-01-01

This paper deals with the photoluminescence, structural and electrical properties of chemically passivated a-Si:H based thin films and corresponding thin film solar cells. The structures were chemically passivated in three types of KCN and HCN solutions containing MeOH and/or with water. The photoluminescence measurements were performed at 6 K using Ar laser and lock-in signal recording device containing Ge and Si photodetectors. Optically determined band gap related photoluminescence signals were observed between 1.1 and 1.7 eV. The electrical properties were measured by a high-sensitive charge version of deep level transient spectroscopy (Q-DLTS). The evolution of three basic groups of defects was observed. The structural studies were realized by the standard X-ray diffraction analysis. The cyanide treatment improved significantly the electrical characteristics of both corresponding MOS structures and solar cells due to the passivation of some parts of the dangling bonds by CN group. Particularly, the passivation of the defects at interfaces in MOS or solar cell multilayer structures was achieved which is of primary practical importance

Characterization of the Organic Thin Film Solar Cells with Active Layers of PTB7/PC71BM Prepared by Using Solvent Mixtures with Different Additives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masakazu Ito

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Organic thin film solar cells (OTFSCs were fabricated with blended active layers of poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyloxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl][3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexylcarbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl

ITO-Free Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells Based on Silver Thin Film Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhizhe Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available ITO-free semitransparent organic solar cells (OSCs based on MoO3/Ag anodes with poly(3-hexylthiophene and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester films as the active layer are investigated in this work. To obtain the optimal transparent (MoO3/Ag anode, ITO-free reference OSCs are firstly fabricated. The power conversion efficiency (PCE of 2.71% is obtained for OSCs based on the optimal MoO3 (2 nm/Ag (9 nm anode, comparable to that of ITO-based reference OSCs (PCE of 2.85%. Then based on MoO3 (2 nm/Ag (9 nm anode, ITO-free semitransparent OSCs with different thickness combination of Ca and Ag as the cathodes are investigated. It is observed from our results that OSCs with Ca (15 nm/Ag (15 nm cathode have the optimal transparency. Meanwhile, the PCE of 1.79% and 0.67% is obtained for illumination from the anode and cathode side, respectively, comparable to that of similar ITO-based semitransparent OSCs (PCE of 1.59% and 0.75% for illumination from the anode and cathode side, resp. (Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 95, pp. 877–880, 2011. The transparency and PCE of ITO-free semitransparent OSCs can be further improved by introducing a light couple layer. The developed method is compatible with various substrates, which is instructive for further research of ITO-free semitransparent OSCs.

Solution-processed In2S3 buffer layer for chalcopyrite thin film solar cells

OpenAIRE

Wang Lan; Lin Xianzhong; Ennaoui Ahmed; Wolf Christian; Lux-Steiner Martha Ch.; Klenk Reiner

2016-01-01

We report a route to deposit In2S3 thin films from air-stable, low-cost molecular precursor inks for Cd-free buffer layers in chalcopyrite-based thin film solar cells. Different precursor compositions and processing conditions were studied to define a reproducible and robust process. By adjusting the ink properties, this method can be applied in different printing and coating techniques. Here we report on two techniques, namely spin-coating ...

Light Trapping in Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells on Plastic Substrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, M.M.

2013-01-01

In the search for sustainable energy sources, solar energy can fulfil a large part of the growing demand. The biggest threshold for large-scale solar energy harvesting is the solar panel price. For drastic cost reductions, roll-to-roll fabrication of thin film silicon solar cells using plastic

Organic thin films and surfaces directions for the nineties

CERN Document Server

Ulman, Abraham

1995-01-01

Physics of Thin Films has been one of the longest running continuing series in thin film science consisting of 20 volumes since 1963. The series contains some of the highest quality studies of the properties ofvarious thin films materials and systems.In order to be able to reflect the development of todays science and to cover all modern aspects of thin films, the series, beginning with Volume 20, will move beyond the basic physics of thin films. It will address the most important aspects of both inorganic and organic thin films, in both their theoretical as well as technological aspects. Ther

Spectral conversion for thin film solar cells and luminescent solar concentrators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sark, van W.G.J.H.M.; Wild, de J.; Krumer, Z.; Mello Donegá, de C.; Schropp, R.E.I.; Nozik, A.J.; Beard, M.C.; Conibeer, G.

2014-01-01

Full spectrum absorption combined with effective generation and collection of charge carriers is a prerequisite for attaining high efficiency solar cells. Two examples of spectral conversion are treated in this chapter, i.e., up-conversion and down-shifting. Up-conversion is applied to thin film

Solution-processed In2S3 buffer layer for chalcopyrite thin film solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lan; Lin, Xianzhong; Ennaoui, Ahmed; Wolf, Christian; Lux-Steiner, Martha Ch.; Klenk, Reiner

2016-02-01

We report a route to deposit In2S3 thin films from air-stable, low-cost molecular precursor inks for Cd-free buffer layers in chalcopyrite-based thin film solar cells. Different precursor compositions and processing conditions were studied to define a reproducible and robust process. By adjusting the ink properties, this method can be applied in different printing and coating techniques. Here we report on two techniques, namely spin-coating and inkjet printing. Active area efficiencies of 12.8% and 12.2% have been achieved for In2S3-buffered solar cells respectively, matching the performance of CdS-buffered cells prepared with the same batch of absorbers.

Thin-film intermediate band chalcopyrite solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuertes Marron, D.; Marti, A.; Luque, A.

2009-01-01

Chalcopyrite-based solar cells currently lead the efficiency tables of thin-film photovoltaic technologies. Further improvements are foreseen upon implementation of an intermediate band in the absorber layers. We present a theoretical analysis of the efficiency limit for this type of device as a function of factors such as the gap of the host, the relative position of the intermediate band with respect to the band edge and the level of light concentration used as illumination. We have also considered the impact of non-idealities on the performance of the device, particularly the effect of electronic losses related to non-radiative recombination

13.7%-efficient Zn(Se,OH){sub x}/Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se){sub 2} thin-film solar cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ennaoui, A. [Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Bereich Physikalische Chemie, Berlin (Germany); Blieske, U.; Lux-Steiner, M.Ch. [Hahn-Meitner-Institut, Bereich Festkoerperphysik, Berlin (Germany)

1998-12-01

Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) and related semiconducting compounds have demonstrated their high potential for high-efficiency thin-film solar cells. The highest efficiency for CIGS based thin-film solar cells has been achieved with CdS buffer layers prepared by a solution growth method known as chemical based deposition (CBD). With the aim of developing Cd-free chalcopyrite-based thin-film solar cells, Zn(Se,OH){sub x} buffer layers were deposited by CBD on polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se){sub 2} (CIGSS). A total-area conversion efficiency of 13.7% was certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. The CIGSS absorber was fabricated by Siemens Solar Industries (California). For device optimisation, the thickness and good surface coverage were controlled by XPS-UPS photoemission spectroscopy. A Zn(Se,OH){sub x} thickness below 7 nm has been found to be optimum for achieving a homogeneous and compact buffer film on CIGSS, with open-circuit photovoltage V{sub oc} = 535 mV, fill factor FF = 70.76% and a high short-circuit photocurrent density J{sub sc} 36.1 mA cm{sup -2}. (Author)

Effects of excitation intensity on the photocurrent response of thin film silicon solar modules

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Q.; Shumka, A.; Trask, J.

1986-01-01

Photocurrent responses of amorphous thin film silicon solar modules at room temperature were studied at different excitation intensities using various monochromatic light sources. Photocurrent imaging techniques have been effectively used to locate rapidly, and non-destructively, failure and defect sites in the multilayer thin film device. Differences observed in the photocurrent response characteristics for two different cells in the same amorphous thin film silicon solar module suggest the possibility of the formation of dissimilarly active devices, even though the module is processed in the same fabrication process. Possible mechanisms are discussed.

CRADA with United Solar Technologies and Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL-021): Thin film materialsfor low-cost high performance solar concentrators

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, P. M.; Affinito, J. D.; Gross, M. E.; Bennett, W. D.

1995-03-01

The objectives of this project were to develop and evaluate promising low-cost dielectric and polymer-protected thin-film reflective metal coatings to be applied to preformed continuously-curved solar reflector panels to enhance their solar reflectance, and to demonstrate protected solar reflective coatings on preformed solar concentrator panels. The opportunity for this project arose from a search by United Solar Technologies (UST) for organizations and facilities capable of applying reflective coatings to large preformed panels. PNL was identified as being uniquely qualified to participate in this collaborative project.

Nanostructuring on zinc phthalocyanine thin films for single-junction organic solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chaudhary, Dhirendra K.; Kumar, Lokendra, E-mail: lokendrakr@allduniv.ac.in [Department of Physics, University of Allahabad, Allahabad-211 002 (India)

2016-05-23

Vertically aligned and random oriented crystalline molecular nanorods of organic semiconducting Zinc Phthalocyanine (ZnPc) have been grown on ITO coated glass substrate using solvent volatilization method. Interesting changes in surface morphology were observed under different solvent treatment. Vertically aligned nanorods of ZnPc thin film were observed in the films treated with acetone, where as the random oriented nanorods were observed in the films treated with chloroform. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been used for characterization of nanostructures. The optical properties of the nanorods have been investigated by UV-Vis. absorption spectroscopy.

The Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin films solar cells synthesized by electrodeposition route

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ji; Ma, Tuteng; Wei, Ming; Liu, Weifeng; Jiang, Guoshun; Zhu, Changfei

2012-06-01

An electrodeposition route for preparing Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin films for thin film solar cell absorber layers is demonstrated. The Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin films are prepared by co-electrodeposition Cu-Zn-Sn metallic precursor and subsequently annealing in element selenium atmosphere. The structure, composition and optical properties of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrometry, energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy. The Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin film with high crystalline quality was obtained, the band gap and absorption coefficient were 1.0 eV and 10-4 cm-1, which is quite suitable for solar cells fabrication. A solar cell with the structure of ZnO:Al/i-ZnO/CdS/Cu2ZnSnSe4/Mo/glass was fabricated and achieved an conversion efficiency of 1.7%.

Light trapping with plasmonic back contacts in thin-film silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paetzold, Ulrich Wilhelm

2013-02-08

Trapping light in silicon solar cells is essential as it allows an increase in the absorption of incident sunlight in optically thin silicon absorber layers. This way, the costs of the solar cells can be reduced by lowering the material consumption and decreasing the physical constraints on the material quality. In this work, plasmonic light trapping with Ag back contacts in thin-film silicon solar cells is studied. Solar cell prototypes with plasmonic back contacts are presented along with optical simulations of these devices and general design considerations of plasmonic back contacts. Based on three-dimensional electromagnetic simulations, the conceptual design of plasmonic nanostructures on Ag back contacts in thin-film silicon solar cells is studied in this work. Optimizations of the nanostructures regarding their ability to scatter incident light at low optical losses into large angles in the silicon absorber layers of the thin-film silicon solar cells are presented. Geometrical parameters as well as the embedding dielectric layer stack of the nanostructures on Ag layers are varied. Periodic as well as isolated hemispherical Ag nanostructures of dimensions above 200 nm are found to scatter incident light at high efficiencies and low optical losses. Hence, these nanostructures are of interest for light trapping in solar cells. In contrast, small Ag nanostructures of dimension below 100 nm are found to induce optical losses. At the surface of randomly textured Ag back contacts small Ag nanostructures exist which induce optical losses. In this work, the relevance of these localized plasmon induced optical losses as well as optical losses caused by propagating plasmons are investigated with regard to the reflectance of the textured back contacts. In state-of-the-art solar cells, the plasmon-induced optical losses are shifted out of the relevant wavelength range by incorporating a ZnO:Al interlayer of low refractive index at the back contact. The additional but

High-temperature fabrication of Ag(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films for applications in solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xianfeng [International Center for Science and Engineering Programs, Waseda University, Tokyo (Japan); Yamada, Akira [Department of Physical Electronics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo (Japan); Kobayashi, Masakazu [Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Waseda University, Tokyo (Japan); Kagami Memorial Research Institute for Materials Science, Waseda University, Tokyo (Japan)

2017-10-15

Molecular beam epitaxy was used to fabricate Ag(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (AIGS) thin films. To improve the diffusion of Ag, high-temperature deposition and high-temperature annealing methods were applied to fabricate AIGS films. The as-grown AIGS thin films were then used to make AIGS solar cells. We found that grain size and crystallinity of AIGS films were considerably improved by increasing the deposition and annealing temperature. For high-temperature deposition, temperatures over 600 C led to decomposition of the AIGS film, desorption of In, and deterioration of its crystallinity. The most appropriate deposition temperature was 590 C and a solar cell with a power conversion efficiency of 4.1% was obtained. High-temperature annealing of the AIGS thin films showed improved crystallinity as annealing temperature was increased and film decomposition and In desorption were prevented. A solar cell based on this film showed the highest conversion efficiency of 6.4% when annealed at 600 C. When the annealing temperature was further increased to 610 C, the performance of the cell deteriorated due to loss of the out-of-plane Ga gradient. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Preparation of thin films, with base to precursor materials of type Cu-In-Se elaborated by electrodeposition for the solar cells elaboration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, A.M.

1999-01-01

Thin films of chalcogenide compounds are promising because they have excellent optoelectronic characteristics to be applied in solar cells. In particular, CuInSe 2 and Cd Te thin films have shown high solar to electrical conversion efficiency. However, this efficiency is limited by the method of preparation, in this case, physical vapor deposition techniques are used. In order to increase the area of deposition t is necessary to use chemical methods, for example, electrodeposition technique. In this paper, the preparation of Cu-In-Se precursors thin films by electrochemical method is reported. These precursors were used to build solar cells with 7.9 % of efficiency. (Author)

Interfacial Properties of CZTS Thin Film Solar Cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Muhunthan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Cu-deficient CZTS (copper zinc tin sulfide thin films were grown on soda lime as well as molybdenum coated soda lime glass by reactive cosputtering. Polycrystalline CZTS film with kesterite structure was produced by annealing it at 500°C in Ar atmosphere. These films were characterized for compositional, structural, surface morphological, optical, and transport properties using energy dispersive X-ray analysis, glancing incidence X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Hall effect measurement. A CZTS solar cell device having conversion efficiency of ~0.11% has been made by depositing CdS, ZnO, ITO, and Al layers over the CZTS thin film deposited on Mo coated soda lime glass. The series resistance of the device was very high. The interfacial properties of device were characterized by cross-sectional SEM and cross-sectional HRTEM.

High mobility transparent conducting oxides for thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calnan, S.; Tiwari, A.N.

2010-01-01

A special class of transparent conducting oxides (TCO) with high mobility of > 65 cm 2 V -1 s -1 allows film resistivity in the low 10 -4 Ω cm range and a high transparency of > 80% over a wide spectrum, from 300 nm to beyond 1500 nm. This exceptional coincidence of desirable optical and electrical properties provides opportunities to improve the performance of opto-electronic devices and opens possibilities for new applications. Strategies to attain high mobility (HM) TCO materials as well as the current status of such materials based on indium and cadmium containing oxides are presented. Various concepts used to understand the underlying mechanisms for high mobility in HMTCO films are discussed. Examples of HMTCO layers used as transparent electrodes in thin film solar cells are used to illustrate possible improvements in solar cell performance. Finally, challenges and prospects for further development of HMTCO materials are discussed.

High Efficiency Thin Film CdTe and a-Si Based Solar Cells: Final Technical Report, 4 March 1998--15 October 2001

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Compaan, A. D.; Deng, X.; Bohn, R. G.

2003-10-01

This is the final report covering about 42 months of this subcontract for research on high-efficiency CdTe-based thin-film solar cells and on high-efficiency a-Si-based thin-film solar cells. Phases I and II have been extensively covered in two Annual Reports. For this Final Report, highlights of the first two Phases will be provided and then detail will be given on the last year and a half of Phase III. The effort on CdTe-based materials is led by Prof. Compaan and emphasizes the use of sputter deposition of the semiconductor layers in the fabrication of CdS/CdTe cells. The effort on high-efficiency a-Si materials is led by Prof. Deng and emphasizes plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition for cell fabrication with major efforts on triple-junction devices.

The film thickness dependent thermal stability of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Ag thin films as high-temperature solar selective absorbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao Xiudi; Xu Gang, E-mail: xiudixiao@163.com; Xiong Bin; Chen Deming; Miao Lei [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy and Gas Hydrates, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion (China)

2012-03-15

The monolayer Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Ag thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering. The microstructure and optical properties of thin film after annealing at 700 Degree-Sign C in air were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and spectrophotometer. It revealed that the particle shape, size, and distribution across the film were greatly changed before and after annealing. The surface plasmon resonance absorption and thermal stability of the film were found to be strongly dependent on the film thickness, which was believed to be associated with the evolution process of particle diffusion, agglomeration, and evaporation during annealing at high temperature. When the film thickness was smaller than 90 nm, the film SPR absorption can be attenuated until extinct with increasing annealing time due to the evaporation of Ag particles. While the film thickness was larger than 120 nm, the absorption can keep constant even after annealing for 64 h due to the agglomeration of Ag particles. On the base of film thickness results, the multilayer Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Ag solar selective thin films were prepared and the thermal stability test illustrated that the solar selectivity of multilayer films with absorbing layer thickness larger than 120 nm did not degrade after annealing at 500 Degree-Sign C for 70 h in air. It can be concluded that film thickness is an important factor to control the thermal stability of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Ag thin films as high-temperature solar selective absorbers.

Solution-processed In2S3 buffer layer for chalcopyrite thin film solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Lan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We report a route to deposit In2S3 thin films from air-stable, low-cost molecular precursor inks for Cd-free buffer layers in chalcopyrite-based thin film solar cells. Different precursor compositions and processing conditions were studied to define a reproducible and robust process. By adjusting the ink properties, this method can be applied in different printing and coating techniques. Here we report on two techniques, namely spin-coating and inkjet printing. Active area efficiencies of 12.8% and 12.2% have been achieved for In2S3-buffered solar cells respectively, matching the performance of CdS-buffered cells prepared with the same batch of absorbers.

Room temperature deposition of magnetite thin films on organic substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arisi, E.; Bergenti, I.; Cavallini, M.; Murgia, M.; Riminucci, A.; Ruani, G.; Dediu, V.

2007-01-01

We report on the growth of magnetite films directly on thin layers of organic semiconductors by means of an electron beam ablation method. The deposition was performed at room temperature in a reactive plasma atmosphere. Thin films show ferromagnetic (FM) hysteresis loops and coercive fields of hundreds of Oersted. Micro Raman analysis indicates no presence of spurious phases. The morphology of the magnetite film is strongly influenced by the morphology of the underlayer of the organic semiconductor. These results open the way for the application of magnetite thin films in the field of organic spintronics

Transparent solar antenna of 28 GHz using transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Ali, N I; Misran, N; Mansor, M F; Jamlos, M F

2017-01-01

This paper presents the analysis of 28GHz solar patch antenna using the variations of transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film as the radiating patch. Solar antenna is basically combining the function of antenna and solar cell into one device and helps to maximize the usage of surface area. The main problem of the existing solar antenna is the radiating patch which made of nontransparent material, such as copper, shadowing the solar cell and degrades the total solar efficiency. Hence, by using the transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film as the radiating patch, this problem can be tackled. The TCO thin film used is varied to ITO, FTO, AgHT-4, and AgHT-8 along with glass as substrate. The simulation of the antenna executed by using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio software demonstrated at 28 GHz operating frequency for 5G band applications. The performance of the transparent antennas is compared with each other and also with the nontransparent patch antenna that using Rogers RT5880 as substrate, operating at the same resonance frequency and then, the material that gives the best performance is identified. (paper)

Transparent solar antenna of 28 GHz using transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, N. I. Mohd; Misran, N.; Mansor, M. F.; Jamlos, M. F.

2017-05-01

This paper presents the analysis of 28GHz solar patch antenna using the variations of transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film as the radiating patch. Solar antenna is basically combining the function of antenna and solar cell into one device and helps to maximize the usage of surface area. The main problem of the existing solar antenna is the radiating patch which made of nontransparent material, such as copper, shadowing the solar cell and degrades the total solar efficiency. Hence, by using the transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film as the radiating patch, this problem can be tackled. The TCO thin film used is varied to ITO, FTO, AgHT-4, and AgHT-8 along with glass as substrate. The simulation of the antenna executed by using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio software demonstrated at 28 GHz operating frequency for 5G band applications. The performance of the transparent antennas is compared with each other and also with the nontransparent patch antenna that using Rogers RT5880 as substrate, operating at the same resonance frequency and then, the material that gives the best performance is identified.

Benzothienobenzothiophene-based conjugated oligomers as semiconductors for stable organic thin-film transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Han; Li, Weili; Tian, Hongkun; Wang, Haibo; Yan, Donghang; Zhang, Jingping; Geng, Yanhou; Wang, Fosong

2014-04-09

Two benzothienobenzothiophene (BTBT)-based conjugated oligomers, i.e., 2,2'-bi[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (1) and 5,5'-bis([1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophen-2-yl)-2,2'-bithiophene (2), were prepared and characterized. Both oligomers exhibit excellent thermal stability, with 5% weight-loss temperatures (T(L)) above 370 °C; no phase transition was observed before decomposition. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels of 1 and 2 are -5.3 and -4.9 eV, respectively, as measured by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Thin-film X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy characterizations indicate that both oligomers form highly crystalline films with large domain sizes on octadecyltrimethoxysilane-modified substrates. Organic thin-film transistors with top-contact and bottom-gate geometry based on 1 and 2 exhibited mobilities up to 2.12 cm(2)/V·s for 1 and 1.39 cm(2)/V·s for 2 in an ambient atmosphere. 1-based devices exhibited great air and thermal stabilities, as evidenced by the slight performance degradation after 2 months of storage under ambient conditions and after thermal annealing at temperatures below 250 °C.

Nanomechanical investigation of thin-film electroceramic/metal-organic framework multilayers

Science.gov (United States)

Best, James P.; Michler, Johann; Liu, Jianxi; Wang, Zhengbang; Tsotsalas, Manuel; Maeder, Xavier; Röse, Silvana; Oberst, Vanessa; Liu, Jinxuan; Walheim, Stefan; Gliemann, Hartmut; Weidler, Peter G.; Redel, Engelbert; Wöll, Christof

2015-09-01

Thin-film multilayer stacks of mechanically hard magnetron sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) and mechanically soft highly porous surface anchored metal-organic framework (SURMOF) HKUST-1 were studied using nanoindentation. Crystalline, continuous, and monolithic surface anchored MOF thin films were fabricated using a liquid-phase epitaxial growth method. Control over respective fabrication processes allowed for tuning of the thickness of the thin film systems with a high degree of precision. It was found that the mechanical indentation of such thin films is significantly affected by the substrate properties; however, elastic parameters were able to be decoupled for constituent thin-film materials (EITO ≈ 96.7 GPa, EHKUST-1 ≈ 22.0 GPa). For indentation of multilayer stacks, it was found that as the layer thicknesses were increased, while holding the relative thickness of ITO and HKUST-1 constant, the resistance to deformation was significantly altered. Such an observation is likely due to small, albeit significant, changes in film texture, interfacial roughness, size effects, and controlling deformation mechanism as a result of increasing material deposition during processing. Such effects may have consequences regarding the rational mechanical design and utilization of MOF-based hybrid thin-film devices.

Development of Deposition and Characterization Systems for Thin Film Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Cimaroli, Alexander J.

Photovoltaic (PV) devices are becoming more important due to a number of economic and environmental factors. PV research relies on the ability to quickly fabricate and characterize these devices. While there are a number of deposition methods that are available in a laboratory setting, they are not necessarily able to be scaled to provide high throughput in a commercial setting. A close-space sublimation (CSS) system was developed to provide a means of depositing thin films in a very controlled and scalable manner. Its viability was explored by using it to deposit the absorber layer in Zn3P2 and CdTe solar cell devices. Excellent control over morphology and growth conditions and a high level of repeatability was demonstrated in the study of textured Zn3P2 thin films. However, some limitations imposed by the structure of Zn3P 2-based PV devices showed that CSS may not be the best approach for depositing Zn3P2 thin films. Despite the inability to make Zn3P2 solar cell devices, high efficiency CdTe solar cells were fabricated using CSS. With the introduction of Perovskite-based solar cell devices, the viability of data collected from conventional J-V measurements was questioned due to the J-V hysteresis that Perovskite devices exhibited. New methods of solar cell characterization were developed in order to accurately and quickly assess the performance of hysteretic PV devices. Both J-V measurements and steady-state efficiency measurements are prone to errors due to hysteresis and maximum power point drift. To resolve both of these issues, a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) system was developed with two algorithms: a simple algorithm and a predictive algorithm. The predictive algorithm showed increased resistance to the effects of hysteresis because of its ability to predict the steady-state current after a bias step with a double exponential decay model fit. Some publications have attempted to quantify the degree of J-V hysteresis present in fabricated Perovskite-based

11.3% efficiency Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin film solar cells via drop-on-demand inkjet printing

OpenAIRE

Lin, Xianzhong; Klenk, Reiner; Wang, Lan; Köhler, Tristan; Albert, Jürgen; Fiechter, Sebastian; Ennaoui, Ahmed; Lux-Steiner, Martha

2017-01-01

Although Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGSe) based thin film solar cells have reached efficiencies exceeding 22% based on vacuum processed CIGSSe absorbers, the supply of indium and gallium might become an issue if CIGSSe thin-film solar cells are produced in very large volumes. It is therefore mandatory to reduce the wastage of indium and gallium during the fabrication process. In this work, we report on a highly efficient precursor utilization, and a vacuum-free, and scalable route to the deposition o...

CuInSe2-Based Thin-Film Photovoltaic Technology in the Gigawatt Production Era

Science.gov (United States)

Kushiya, Katsumi

2012-10-01

The objective of this paper is to review current status and future prospect on CuInSe2 (CIS)-based thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technology. In CIS-based thin-film PV technology, total-area cell efficiency in a small-area (i.e., smaller than 1 cm2) solar cell with top grids has been over 20%, while aperture-area efficiency in a large-area (i.e., larger than 800 cm2 as definition) monolithic module is approaching to an 18% milestone. However, most of the companies with CIS-based thin-film PV technology still stay at a production research stage, except Solar Frontier K.K. In July, 2011, Solar Frontier has joined the gigawatt (GW) group by starting up their third facility with a 0.9-GW/year production capacity. They are keeping the closest position to pass a 16% module-efficiency border by transferring the developed technologies in the R&D and accelerating the preparation for the future based on the concept of a product life-cycle management.

Silver Nanoparticle Enhanced Freestanding Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Winans, Joshua David

As the supply of fossil fuels diminishes in quantity the demand for alternative energy sources will consistently increase. Solar cells are an environmentally friendly and proven technology that suffer in sales due to a large upfront cost. In order to help facilitate the transition from fossil fuels to photovoltaics, module costs must be reduced to prices well below $1/Watt. Thin-film solar cells are more affordable because of the reduced materials costs, but lower in efficiency because less light is absorbed before passing through the cell. Silver nanoparticles placed at the front surface of the solar cell absorb and reradiate the energy of the light in ways such that more of the light ends being captured by the silicon. Silver nanoparticles can do this because they have free electron clouds that can take on the energy of an incident photon through collective action. This bulk action of the electrons is called a plasmon. This work begins by discussing the economics driving the need for reduced material use, and the pros and cons of taking this step. Next, the fundamental theory of light-matter interaction is briefly described followed by an introduction to the study of plasmonics. Following that we discuss a traditional method of silver nanoparticle formation and the initial experimental studies of their effects on the ability of thin-film silicon to absorb light. Then, Finite-Difference Time-Domain simulation software is used to simulate the effects of nanoparticle morphology and size on the scattering of light at the surface of the thin-film.

Inverted organic solar cells with solvothermal synthesized vanadium-doped TiO2 thin films as efficient electron transport layer

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Mehdi Ahmadi; Sajjad Rashidi Dafeh; Samaneh Ghazanfarpour; Mohammad Khanzadeh

2017-01-01

We investigated the effects of using different thicknesses of pure and vanadium-doped thin films of TiO2 as the electron transport layer in the inverted configuration of organic photovoltaic cells based on poly (3-hexylthiophene) P3HT:[6-6] phenyl-(6) butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM).1％ vanadium-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized via the solvothermal method.Crystalline structure,morphology,and optical properties of pure and vanadium-doped TiO2 thin films were studied by different techniques such as x-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,transmittance electron microscopy,and UV-visible transmission spectrum.The doctor blade method which is compatible with roll-2-roll printing was used for deposition of pure and vanadium-doped TiO2 thin films with thicknesses of 30 nm and 60 nm.The final results revealed that the best thickness of TiO2 thin films for our fabricated cells was 30 nm.The cell with vanadium-doped TiO2 thin film showed slightly higher power conversion efficiency and great Jsc of 10.7 mA/cm2 compared with its pure counterpart.In the cells using 60 nm pure and vanadium-doped TiO2 layers,the cell using the doped layer showed much higher efficiency.It is remarkable that the extemal quantum efficiency of vanadium-doped TiO2 thin film was better in all wavelengths.

Operating method of amorphous thin film semiconductor element

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mori, Koshiro; Ono, Masaharu; Hanabusa, Akira; Osawa, Michio; Arita, Takashi

1988-05-31

The existing technologies concerning amorphous thin film semiconductor elements are the technologies concerning the formation of either a thin film transistor or an amorphous Si solar cell on a substrate. In order to drive a thin film transistor for electronic equipment control by the output power of an amorphous Si solar cell, it has been obliged to drive the transistor weth an amorphous solar cell which was formed on a substrate different from that for the transistor. Accordingly, the space for the amorphous solar cell, which was formed on the different substrate, was additionally needed on the substrate for the thin film transistor. In order to solve the above problem, this invention proposes an operating method of an amorphous thin film semiconductor element that after forming an amorphous Si solar cell through lamination on the insulation coating film which covers the thin film transistor formed on the substrate, the thin film transistor is driven by the output power of this solar cell. The invention eliminates the above superfluous space and reduces the size of the amorphous thin film semiconductor element including the electric source. (3 figs)

Optical and electronic proprieties of thin films based on (Z-5-(4-chlorobenzylidene-3-(2-ethoxyphenyl-2 thioxothiazolidin-4-one, (CBBTZ and possible application as exciton-blocking layer in heterojunction organic solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morsli M.

2012-06-01

Full Text Available In this work, organic thin film solar cells with structures based on CuPc/C60 bulk heterojunctions, have been fabricated and characterized. The effect of introducing an exciton blocking layer (EBL between the active layer and the metal layer in the solar cell was investigated. For that (Z-5-(4-chlorobenzylidene-3-(2-ethoxyphenyl-2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one, that we called (CBBTZ has been synthesized, characterized and probed as EBL. It was shown that optimized structures containing EBLs resulted in an improvement in solar cell conversion efficiencies. The energy levels corresponding to the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO of the CBBTZ have been determined from the first oxidation and reduction potential respectively, using cyclic voltametric (CV measurements. From CV curves, CBBTZ in dichloromethane showed a one electron reversible reduction and oxidation waves. The values of its HOMO and LUMO have been estimated to be 6.42 eV and 3.42 eV respectively. Such values show that CBBTZ could be probed as EBL in organic solar cells based on the ED/EA couple copper phthalocyanine(CuPc/fullerene (C60. The photovoltaic solar cells have been obtained by sequential deposition under vacuum of the different films where their thicknesses were measured in situ by a quartz monitor. When obtained, the averaged efficiency of the cells using the CBBTZ is higher than that achieved without EBL layer.

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials as semiconducting channels in thin-film field-effect transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Kagan; Mitzi; Dimitrakopoulos

1999-10-29

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials promise both the superior carrier mobility of inorganic semiconductors and the processability of organic materials. A thin-film field-effect transistor having an organic-inorganic hybrid material as the semiconducting channel was demonstrated. Hybrids based on the perovskite structure crystallize from solution to form oriented molecular-scale composites of alternating organic and inorganic sheets. Spin-coated thin films of the semiconducting perovskite (C(6)H(5)C(2)H(4)NH(3))(2)SnI(4) form the conducting channel, with field-effect mobilities of 0.6 square centimeters per volt-second and current modulation greater than 10(4). Molecular engineering of the organic and inorganic components of the hybrids is expected to further improve device performance for low-cost thin-film transistors.

Nanomechanical investigation of thin-film electroceramic/metal-organic framework multilayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Best, James P., E-mail: james.best@empa.ch, E-mail: engelbert.redel@kit.edu, E-mail: christof.woell@kit.edu; Michler, Johann; Maeder, Xavier [Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures, Feuerwerkerstrasse 39, CH-3602 Thun (Switzerland); Liu, Jianxi; Wang, Zhengbang; Tsotsalas, Manuel; Liu, Jinxuan; Gliemann, Hartmut; Weidler, Peter G.; Redel, Engelbert, E-mail: james.best@empa.ch, E-mail: engelbert.redel@kit.edu, E-mail: christof.woell@kit.edu; Wöll, Christof, E-mail: james.best@empa.ch, E-mail: engelbert.redel@kit.edu, E-mail: christof.woell@kit.edu [Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany); Röse, Silvana [Preparative Macromolecular Chemistry, Institute for Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry (ICTP), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engesserstrasse 18, 76128 Karlsruhe (Germany); Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Herrmann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany); Oberst, Vanessa [Institute of Applied Materials (IAM), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany); Walheim, Stefan [Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany)

2015-09-07

Thin-film multilayer stacks of mechanically hard magnetron sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) and mechanically soft highly porous surface anchored metal-organic framework (SURMOF) HKUST-1 were studied using nanoindentation. Crystalline, continuous, and monolithic surface anchored MOF thin films were fabricated using a liquid-phase epitaxial growth method. Control over respective fabrication processes allowed for tuning of the thickness of the thin film systems with a high degree of precision. It was found that the mechanical indentation of such thin films is significantly affected by the substrate properties; however, elastic parameters were able to be decoupled for constituent thin-film materials (E{sub ITO} ≈ 96.7 GPa, E{sub HKUST−1} ≈ 22.0 GPa). For indentation of multilayer stacks, it was found that as the layer thicknesses were increased, while holding the relative thickness of ITO and HKUST-1 constant, the resistance to deformation was significantly altered. Such an observation is likely due to small, albeit significant, changes in film texture, interfacial roughness, size effects, and controlling deformation mechanism as a result of increasing material deposition during processing. Such effects may have consequences regarding the rational mechanical design and utilization of MOF-based hybrid thin-film devices.

Nanomechanical investigation of thin-film electroceramic/metal-organic framework multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Best, James P.; Michler, Johann; Maeder, Xavier; Liu, Jianxi; Wang, Zhengbang; Tsotsalas, Manuel; Liu, Jinxuan; Gliemann, Hartmut; Weidler, Peter G.; Redel, Engelbert; Wöll, Christof; Röse, Silvana; Oberst, Vanessa; Walheim, Stefan

2015-01-01

Thin-film multilayer stacks of mechanically hard magnetron sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) and mechanically soft highly porous surface anchored metal-organic framework (SURMOF) HKUST-1 were studied using nanoindentation. Crystalline, continuous, and monolithic surface anchored MOF thin films were fabricated using a liquid-phase epitaxial growth method. Control over respective fabrication processes allowed for tuning of the thickness of the thin film systems with a high degree of precision. It was found that the mechanical indentation of such thin films is significantly affected by the substrate properties; however, elastic parameters were able to be decoupled for constituent thin-film materials (E ITO  ≈ 96.7 GPa, E HKUST−1  ≈ 22.0 GPa). For indentation of multilayer stacks, it was found that as the layer thicknesses were increased, while holding the relative thickness of ITO and HKUST-1 constant, the resistance to deformation was significantly altered. Such an observation is likely due to small, albeit significant, changes in film texture, interfacial roughness, size effects, and controlling deformation mechanism as a result of increasing material deposition during processing. Such effects may have consequences regarding the rational mechanical design and utilization of MOF-based hybrid thin-film devices

Heterojunction solar cell with 6% efficiency based on an n-type aluminum-gallium-oxide thin film and p-type sodium-doped Cu2O sheet

Science.gov (United States)

Minami, Tadatsugu; Nishi, Yuki; Miyata, Toshihiro

2015-02-01

In this paper, we describe efforts to enhance the efficiency of Cu2O-based heterojunction solar cells fabricated with an aluminum-gallium-oxide (Al-Ga-O) thin film as the n-type layer and a p-type sodium (Na)-doped Cu2O (Cu2O:Na) sheet prepared by thermally oxidizing copper sheets. The optimal Al content [X; Al/(Ga + Al) atomic ratio] of an AlX-Ga1-X-O thin-film n-type layer was found to be approximately 2.5 at. %. The optimized resistivity was approximately 15 Ω cm for n-type AlX-Ga1-X-O/p-type Cu2O:Na heterojunction solar cells. A MgF2/AZO/Al0.025-Ga0.975-O/Cu2O:Na heterojunction solar cell with 6.1% efficiency was fabricated using a 60-nm-thick n-type oxide thin-film layer and a 0.2-mm-thick Cu2O:Na sheet with the optimized resistivity.

Solution processed metal oxide thin film hole transport layers for high performance organic solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Steirer, K. Xerxes; Berry, Joseph J.; Chesin, Jordan P.; Lloyd, Matthew T.; Widjonarko, Nicodemus Edwin; Miedaner, Alexander; Curtis, Calvin J.; Ginley, David S.; Olson, Dana C.

2017-01-10

A method for the application of solution processed metal oxide hole transport layers in organic photovoltaic devices and related organic electronics devices is disclosed. The metal oxide may be derived from a metal-organic precursor enabling solution processing of an amorphous, p-type metal oxide. An organic photovoltaic device having solution processed, metal oxide, thin-film hole transport layer.

TiO 2 Thin Films Prepared via Adsorptive Self-Assembly for Self-Cleaning Applications

KAUST Repository

Xi, Baojuan

2012-02-22

Low-cost controllable solution-based processes for preparation of titanium oxide (TiO 2) thin films are highly desirable, because of many important applications of this oxide in catalytic decomposition of volatile organic compounds, advanced oxidation processes for wastewater and bactericidal treatments, self-cleaning window glass for green intelligent buildings, dye-sensitized solar cells, solid-state semiconductor metal-oxide solar cells, self-cleaning glass for photovoltaic devices, and general heterogeneous photocatalysis for fine chemicals etc. In this work, we develop a solution-based adsorptive self-assembly approach to fabricate anatase TiO 2 thin films on different glass substrates such as simple plane glass and patterned glass at variable compositions (normal soda lime glass or solar-grade borofloat glass). By tuning the number of process cycles (i.e., adsorption-then-heating) of TiO 2 colloidal suspension, we could facilely prepare large-area TiO 2 films at a desired thickness and with uniform crystallite morphology. Moreover, our as-prepared nanostructured TiO 2 thin films on glass substrates do not cause deterioration in optical transmission of glass; instead, they improve optical performance of commercial solar cells over a wide range of incident angles of light. Our as-prepared anatase TiO 2 thin films also display superhydrophilicity and excellent photocatalytic activity for self-cleaning application. For example, our investigation of photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange indicates that these thin films are indeed highly effective, in comparison to other commercial TiO 2 thin films under identical testing conditions. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Thin film preparation of semiconducting iron pyrite

Science.gov (United States)

Smestad, Greg P.; Ennaoui, Ahmed; Fiechter, Sebastian; Hofmann, Wolfgang; Tributsch, Helmut; Kautek, Wolfgang

1990-08-01

Pyrite (Fe52) has been investigated as a promising new absorber material for thin film solar cell applications because of its high optical absorption coefficient of 1OL cm1, and its bandgap of 0.9 to 1.0 eV. Thin layers have been prepared by Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition, MOCVD, Chemical Spray Pyrolysis, CSP, Chemical Vapor Transport, CVT, and Sulfurization of Iron Oxide films, 510. It is postulated that for the material FeS2, if x is not zero, a high point defect concentration results from replacing 2 dipoles by single S atoms. This causes the observed photovoltages and solar conversion efficiencies to be lower than expected. Using the Fe-O-S ternary phase diagram and the related activity plots, a thermodynamic understanding is formulated for the resulting composition of each of these types of films. It is found that by operating in the oxide portion of the phase diagram, the resulting oxidation state favors pyrite formation over FeS. By proper orientation of the grains relative to the film surface, and by control of pinholes and stoichiometry, an efficient thin film photovolatic solar cell material could be achieved.

Influence of oblique-angle sputtered transparent conducting oxides on performance of Si-based thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leem, Jung Woo; Yu, Jae Su

2011-01-01

The transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films with low-refractive-index (low-n) are fabricated by the oblique-angle sputtering method. By using the experimentally measured physical data of the fabricated low-n TCO films as the simulation parameters, the effect of low-n TCOs on the performance of a-Si:H/μc-Si:H tandem thin film solar cells is investigated using Silvaco ATLAS. The Al-doped zinc oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), and Sb-doped tin oxide films are deposited at the flux incidence angles of θ i = 0 (normal sputtering) and θ i = 80 from the sputtering target during the sputtering process. The oblique-angle sputtered films at θ i = 80 show the inclined columnar nanostructures compared to those at θ i = 0 , modifying the optical properties of the films. This is caused mainly by the increase of porosity within the film which leads to its low-n characteristics. The a-Si:H/μc-Si:H tandem thin film solar cell incorporated with the low-n ITO film exhibits an improvement in the conversion efficiency of ∝1% under AM1.5g illumination because of its higher transmittance and lower absorption compared to that with the ITO film at θ i = 0 , indicating a conversion efficiency of 13.75%. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Light trapping in thin film solar cells using photonic engineering device concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Mutitu, James Gichuhi

In this era of uncertainty concerning future energy solutions, strong reservations have arisen over the continued use and pursuit of fossil fuels and other conventional sources of energy. Moreover, there is currently a strong and global push for the implementation of stringent measures, in order to reduce the amount of green house gases emitted by every nation. As a consequence, there has emerged a sudden and frantic rush for new renewable energy solutions. In this world of renewable energy technologies is where we find photovoltaic (PV) technology today. However, as is, there are still many issues that need to be addressed before solar energy technologies become economically viable and available to all people, in every part of the world. This renewed interest in the development of solar electricity, has led to the advancement of new avenues that address the issues of cost and efficiency associated with PV. To this end, one of the prominent approaches being explored is thin film solar cell (TFSC) technology, which offers prospects of lower material costs and enables larger units of manufacture than conventional wafer based technology. However, TFSC technologies suffer from one major problem; they have lower efficiencies than conventional wafer based solar cell technologies. This lesser efficiency is based on a number of reasons, one of which is that with less material, there is less volume for the absorption of incident photons. This shortcoming leads to the need for optical light trapping; which is concerned with admitting the maximum amount of light into the solar cell and keeping the light within the structure for as long as possible. In this thesis, I present the fundamental scientific ideas, practice and methodology behind the application of photonic engineering device concepts to increase the light trapping capacity of thin film solar cells. In the introductory chapters, I develop the basic ideas behind light trapping in a sequential manner, where the effects

Development of A Thin Film Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sopori, B.; Chen, W.; Zhang, Y.

1998-01-01

A new design for a single junction, thin film Si solar cell is presented. The cell design is compatible with low-temperature processing required for the use of a low-cost glass substrate, and includes effective light trapping and impurity gettering. Elements of essential process steps are discussed

Advances in thin-film solar cells for lightweight space photovoltaic power

Science.gov (United States)

Landis, Geoffrey A.; Bailey, Sheila G.; Flood, Dennis J.

1989-01-01

The development of photovoltaic arrays beyond the next generation is discussed with attention given to the potentials of thin-film polycrystalline and amorphous cells. Of particular importance is the efficiency (the fraction of incident solar energy converted to electricity) and specific power (power to weight ratio). It is found that the radiation tolerance of thin-film materials is far greater than that of single crystal materials. CuInSe2 shows no degradation when exposed to 1-MeV electrons.

Numerical Optimization of a Bifacial Bi-Glass Thin-Film a-Si:H Solar Cell for Higher Conversion Efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Berrian, Djaber; Fathi, Mohamed; Kechouane, Mohamed

2018-02-01

Bifacial solar cells that maximize the energy output per a square meter have become a new fashion in the field of photovoltaic cells. However, the application of thin-film material on bifacial solar cells, viz., thin-film amorphous hydrogenated silicon ( a- Si:H), is extremely rare. Therefore, this paper presents the optimization and influence of the band gap, thickness and doping on the performance of a glass/glass thin-film a- Si:H ( n- i- p) bifacial solar cell, using a computer-aided simulation tool, Automat for simulation of hetero-structures (AFORS-HET). It is worth mentioning that the thickness and the band gap of the i-layer are the key parameters in achieving higher efficiency and hence it has to be handled carefully during the fabrication process. Furthermore, an efficient thin-film a- Si:H bifacial solar cell requires thinner and heavily doped n and p emitter layers. On the other hand, the band gap of the p-layer showed a dramatic reduction of the efficiency at 2.3 eV. Moreover, a high bifaciality factor of more than 92% is attained, and top efficiency of 10.9% is revealed under p side illumination. These optimizations demonstrate significant enhancements of the recent experimental work on thin-film a- Si:H bifacial solar cells and would also be useful for future experimental investigations on an efficient a- Si:H thin-film bifacial solar cell.

Study of neural cells on organic semiconductor ultra thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bystrenova, Eva; Tonazzini, Ilaria; Stoliar, Pablo; Greco, Pierpaolo; Lazar, Adina; Dutta, Soumya; Dionigi, Chiara; Cacace, Marcello; Biscarini, Fabio [ISMN-CNR, Bologna (Italy); Jelitai, Marta; Madarasz, Emilia [IEM- HAS, Budapest (Hungary); Huth, Martin; Nickel, Bert [LMU, Munich (Germany); Martini, Claudia [Dept. PNPB, Univ. of Pisa (Italy)

2008-07-01

Many technological advances are currently being developed for nano-fabrication, offering the ability to create and control patterns of soft materials. We report the deposition of cells on organic semiconductor ultra-thin films. This is a first step towards the development of active bio/non bio systems for electrical transduction. Thin films of pentacene, whose thickness was systematically varied, were grown by high vacuum sublimation. We report adhesion, growth, and differentiation of human astroglial cells and mouse neural stem cells on an organic semiconductor. Viability of astroglial cells in time was measured as a function of the roughness and the characteristic morphology of ultra thin organic film, as well as the features of the patterned molecules. Optical fluorescence microscope coupled to atomic force microscope was used to monitor the presence, density and shape of deposited cells. Neural stem cells remain viable, differentiate by retinoic acid and form dense neuronal networks. We have shown the possibility to integrate living neural cells on organic semiconductor thin films.

Transparent conductive zinc oxide basics and applications in thin film solar cells

CERN Document Server

Klein, Andreas; Rech, Bernd

2008-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) belongs to the class of transparent conducting oxides which can be used as transparent electrodes in electronic devices or heated windows. In this book the material properties of, the deposition technologies for, and applications of zinc oxide in thin film solar cells are described in a comprehensive manner. Structural, morphological, optical and electronic properties of ZnO are treated in this review. The editors and authors of this book are specialists in deposition, analysis and fabrication of thin-film solar cells and especially of ZnO. This book is intended as an overview and a data collection for students, engineers and scientist.

Significant efficiency enhancement in thin film solar cells using laser beam-induced graphene transparent conductive electrodes

OpenAIRE

Thekkekara, L. V.; Cai, Bouyan

2018-01-01

Thin film solar cells have been attractive for decades in advanced green technology platforms due to its possibilities to be integrated with buildings and on-chip applications. However, the bottleneck issues involved to consider the current solar cells as a major electricity source includes the lower efficiencies and cost-effectiveness. We numerically demonstrate the concept of the absorption enhancement in thin-film amorphous silicon solar cells using the laser beam-induced graphene material...

Clean graphene electrodes on organic thin-film devices via orthogonal fluorinated chemistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Jonathan H; Barton, Robert A; Cox, Marshall P; Alexandrou, Konstantinos; Petrone, Nicholas; Olivieri, Giorgia; Yang, Shyuan; Hone, James; Kymissis, Ioannis

2015-04-08

Graphene is a promising flexible, highly transparent, and elementally abundant electrode for organic electronics. Typical methods utilized to transfer large-area films of graphene synthesized by chemical vapor deposition on metal catalysts are not compatible with organic thin-films, limiting the integration of graphene into organic optoelectronic devices. This article describes a graphene transfer process onto chemically sensitive organic semiconductor thin-films. The process incorporates an elastomeric stamp with a fluorinated polymer release layer that can be removed, post-transfer, via a fluorinated solvent; neither fluorinated material adversely affects the organic semiconductor materials. We used Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy to show that chemical vapor deposition graphene can be successfully transferred without inducing defects in the graphene film. To demonstrate our transfer method's compatibility with organic semiconductors, we fabricate three classes of organic thin-film devices: graphene field effect transistors without additional cleaning processes, transparent organic light-emitting diodes, and transparent small-molecule organic photovoltaic devices. These experiments demonstrate the potential of hybrid graphene/organic devices in which graphene is deposited directly onto underlying organic thin-film structures.

Refractive index extraction and thickness optimization of Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin film solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ElAnzeery, H.; El Daif, O.; Buffière, M.; Oueslati, S.; Ben Messaoud, K.; Agten, D.; Brammertz, G.; Guindi, R.; Kniknie, B.; Meuris, M.; Poortmans, J.

2015-01-01

Cu2nSnSe4 (CZTSe) thin film solar cells are promising emergent photovoltaic technologies based on low-bandgap absorber layer with high absorption coefficient. To reduce optical losses in such devices and thus improve their efficiency, numerical simulations of CZTSe solar cells optical

Reflectivity and diffraction of X rays applied to organic thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rieutord, Francois

1987-01-01

This research thesis reports the study of organic thin films by using X-ray-based technologies, and more particularly X-ray reflectivity. After some recalls on X ray diffraction, and on the fabrication of Langmuir-Blodgett films, the author shows how, by combining three X-ray-based techniques, it is possible to study a volume structure of a thin film. He describes the technique of measurement by X- ray reflexivity, its experimental implementation, and methods for result interpretation. In the next part, the author reports the study of peculiar interference effects which are noticed in reflexivity on Langmuir-Blodgett films, and then describes the nature of these films by correlating results of X ray reflexivity with direct observations performed by electronic microscopy on replica [fr

Scalable Production of Mechanically Robust Antireflection Film for Omnidirectional Enhanced Flexible Thin Film Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Min; Ma, Pengsha; Yin, Min; Lu, Linfeng; Lin, Yinyue; Chen, Xiaoyuan; Jia, Wei; Cao, Xinmin; Chang, Paichun; Li, Dongdong

2017-09-01

Antireflection (AR) at the interface between the air and incident window material is paramount to boost the performance of photovoltaic devices. 3D nanostructures have attracted tremendous interest to reduce reflection, while the structure is vulnerable to the harsh outdoor environment. Thus the AR film with improved mechanical property is desirable in an industrial application. Herein, a scalable production of flexible AR films is proposed with microsized structures by roll-to-roll imprinting process, which possesses hydrophobic property and much improved robustness. The AR films can be potentially used for a wide range of photovoltaic devices whether based on rigid or flexible substrates. As a demonstration, the AR films are integrated with commercial Si-based triple-junction thin film solar cells. The AR film works as an effective tool to control the light travel path and utilize the light inward more efficiently by exciting hybrid optical modes, which results in a broadband and omnidirectional enhanced performance.

Numerical investigation of a double-junction a:SiGe thin-film solar cell including the multi-trench region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kacha, K.; Djeffal, F.; Ferhati, H.; Arar, D.; Meguellati, M.

2015-01-01

We present a new approach based on the multi-trench technique to improve the electrical performances, which are the fill factor and the electrical efficiency. The key idea behind this approach is to introduce a new multi-trench region in the intrinsic layer, in order to modulate the total resistance of the solar cell. Based on 2-D numerical investigation and optimization of amorphous SiGe double-junction (a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H) thin film solar cells, in the present paper numerical models of electrical and optical parameters are developed to explain the impact of the multi-trench technique on the improvement of the double-junction solar cell electrical behavior for high performance photovoltaic applications. In this context, electrical characteristics of the proposed design are analyzed and compared with conventional amorphous silicon double-junction thin-film solar cells. (paper)

Solar cells based on electrodeposited thin films of ZnS, CdS, CdSSe and CdTe

Science.gov (United States)

Weerasinghe, Ajith R.

The motivations of this research were to produce increased efficiency and low-cost solar cells. The production efficiency of Si solar cells has almost reached their theoretical limit, and reducing the manufacturing cost of Si solar cells is difficult to achieve due to the high-energy usage in material purifying and processing stages. Due to the low usage of materials and input energy, thin film solar cells have the potential to reduce the costs. CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells are already the cheapest on $/W basis. The cost of CdTe solar cells can be further reduced if all the semiconducting layers are fabricated using the electrodeposition (ED) method. ED method is scalable, low in the usage of energy and raw materials. These benefits lead to the cost effective production of semiconductors. The conventional method of fabricating CdS layers produces Cd containing waste solutions routinely, which adds to the cost of solar cells.ZnS, CdS and CdS(i-X)Sex buffer and window layers and CdTe absorber layers have been successfully electrodeposited and explored under this research investigation. These layers were fully characterised using complementary techniques to evaluate the material properties. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) studies, optical absorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy were utilised to evaluate the material properties of these solid thin film layers. ZnS and CdS thin film layers were electrodeposited from Na-free chemical precursors to avoid the group I element (Na) to reduce deterioration of CdTe devices. Deposition parameters such as, growth substrates, temperature, pH, growth cathodic voltage, stirring rate, time and chemical concentrations were identified to fabricate the above semiconductors. To further optimise these layers, a heat treatment process specific to the material was developed. In addition

Sensing of volatile organic compounds by copper phthalocyanine thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Ridhi, R.; Saini, G. S. S.; Tripathi, S. K.

2017-02-01

Thin films of copper phthalocyanine have been deposited by thermal evaporation technique. We have subsequently exposed these films to the vapours of methanol, ethanol and propanol. Optical absorption, infrared spectra and electrical conductivities of these films before and after exposure to chemical vapours have been recorded in order to study their sensing mechanisms towards organic vapours. These films exhibit maximum sensing response to methanol while low sensitivities of the films towards ethanol and propanol have been observed. The changes in sensitivities have been correlated with presence of carbon groups in the chemical vapours. The effect of different types of electrodes on response-recovery times of the thin film with organic vapours has been studied and compared. The electrodes gap distance affects the sensitivity as well as response-recovery time values of the thin films.

Multi-Material Front Contact for 19% Thin Film Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joop van Deelen

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The trade-off between transmittance and conductivity of the front contact material poses a bottleneck for thin film solar panels. Normally, the front contact material is a metal oxide and the optimal cell configuration and panel efficiency were determined for various band gap materials, representing Cu(In,GaSe2 (CIGS, CdTe and high band gap perovskites. Supplementing the metal oxide with a metallic copper grid improves the performance of the front contact and aims to increase the efficiency. Various front contact designs with and without a metallic finger grid were calculated with a variation of the transparent conductive oxide (TCO sheet resistance, scribing area, cell length, and finger dimensions. In addition, the contact resistance and illumination power were also assessed and the optimal thin film solar panel design was determined. Adding a metallic finger grid on a TCO gives a higher solar cell efficiency and this also enables longer cell lengths. However, contact resistance between the metal and the TCO material can reduce the efficiency benefit somewhat.

Enhanced photocurrent in thin-film amorphous silicon solar cells via shape controlled three-dimensional nanostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilali, Mohamed M; Banerjee, Sanjay; Sreenivasan, S V; Yang Shuqiang; Miller, Mike; Xu, Frank

2012-01-01

In this paper, we have explored manufacturable approaches to sub-wavelength controlled three-dimensional (3D) nano-patterns with the goal of significantly enhancing the photocurrent in amorphous silicon solar cells. Here we demonstrate efficiency enhancement of about 50% over typical flat a-Si thin-film solar cells, and report an enhancement of 20% in optical absorption over Asahi textured glass by fabricating sub-wavelength nano-patterned a-Si on glass substrates. External quantum efficiency showed superior results for the 3D nano-patterned thin-film solar cells due to enhancement of broadband optical absorption. The results further indicate that this enhanced light trapping is achieved with minimal parasitic absorption losses in the deposited transparent conductive oxide for the nano-patterned substrate thin-film amorphous silicon solar cell configuration. Optical simulations are in good agreement with experimental results, and also show a significant enhancement in optical absorption, quantum efficiency and photocurrent. (paper)

Laser-Printed Organic Thin-Film Transistors

KAUST Repository

Diemer, Peter J.; Harper, Angela F.; Niazi, Muhammad Rizwan; Petty, Anthony J.; Anthony, John E.; Amassian, Aram; Jurchescu, Oana D.

2017-01-01

their incorporation in large-scale manufacturing processes. Here, the first ever organic thin-film transistor fabricated with an electrophotographic laser printing process using a standard office laser printer is reported. This completely solvent-free additive

Materials and Light Management for High-Efficiency Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tan, H.

2015-01-01

Direct conversion of sunlight into electricity is one of the most promising approaches to provide sufficient renewable energy for humankind. Solar cells are such devices which can efficiently generate electricity from sunlight through the photovoltaic effect. Thin-film silicon solar cells, a type of

Indium tin oxide thin-films prepared by vapor phase pyrolysis for efficient silicon based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simashkevich, Alexei, E-mail: alexeisimashkevich@hotmail.com [Institute of Applied Physics, 5 Academiei str., Chisinau, MD-2028, Republic of Moldova (Moldova, Republic of); Serban, Dormidont; Bruc, Leonid; Curmei, Nicolai [Institute of Applied Physics, 5 Academiei str., Chisinau, MD-2028, Republic of Moldova (Moldova, Republic of); Hinrichs, Volker [Institut für Heterogene Materialsysteme, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Lise-Meitner Campus, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Rusu, Marin [Institute of Applied Physics, 5 Academiei str., Chisinau, MD-2028, Republic of Moldova (Moldova, Republic of); Institut für Heterogene Materialsysteme, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Lise-Meitner Campus, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany)

2016-07-01

The vapor phase pyrolysis deposition method was developed for the preparation of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films with thicknesses ranging between 300 and 400 nm with the sheet resistance of 10–15 Ω/sq. and the transparency in the visible region of the spectrum over 80%. The layers were deposited on the (100) surface of the n-type silicon wafers with the charge carriers concentration of ~ 10{sup 15} cm{sup −3}. The morphology of the ITO layers deposited on Si wafers with different surface morphologies, e.g., smooth (polished), rough (irregularly structured) and textured (by inversed pyramids) was investigated. The as-deposited ITO thin films consist of crystalline columns with the height of 300–400 nm and the width of 50–100 nm. Photovoltaic parameters of mono- and bifacial solar cells of Cu/ITO/SiO{sub 2}/n–n{sup +} Si/Cu prepared on Si (100) wafers with different surface structures were studied and compared. A maximum efficiency of 15.8% was achieved on monofacial solar cell devices with the textured Si surface. Bifacial photovoltaic devices from 100 μm thick Si wafers with the smooth surface have demonstrated efficiencies of 13.0% at frontal illumination and 10% at rear illumination. - Highlights: • ITO thin films prepared by vapor phase pyrolysis on Si (100) wafers with a smooth (polished), rough (irregularly structured) and textured (by inversed pyramids) surface. • Monofacial ITO/SiO2/n-n+Si solar cells with an efficiency of 15.8% prepared and bifacial PV devices with front- and rear-side efficiencies up to 13% demonstrated. • Comparative studies of photovoltaic properties of solar cells with different morphologies of the Si wafer surface presented.

Research progress on large-area perovskite thin films and solar modules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhichun Yang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Organometal halide perovskites have exhibited a bright future as photovoltaic semiconductor in next generation solar cells due to their unique and promising physicochemical properties. Over the past few years, we have witnessed a tremendous progress of efficiency record evolution of perovskite solar cells (PSCs. Up to now, the highest efficiency record of PSCs has reached 22.1%; however, it was achieved at a very small device area of <0.1 cm2. With the device area increasing to mini-module scale, the efficiency record dropped dramatically. The inherent causes are mainly ascribed to inadequate quality control of large-area perovskite thin films and insufficient optimization of solar module design. In current stage of PSCs research and development, to overcome these two obstacles is in urgent need before this new technology could realize scale-up industrialization. Herein, we present an overview of recently developed strategies for preparing large-area perovskite thin films and perovskite solar modules (PSMs. At last, cost analysis and future application directions of PSMs have also been discussed.

A computational study on the energy bandgap engineering in performance enhancement of CdTe thin film solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ameen M. Ali

Full Text Available In this study, photovoltaic properties of CdTe thin film in the configuration of n-SnO2/n-CdS/p-CdTe/p-CdTe:Te/metal have been studied by numerical simulation software named “Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structure” (AMPS-1D. A modified structure for CdTe thin film solar cell has been proposed by numerical analysis with the insertion of a back contact buffer layer (CdTe:Te. This layer can serve as a barrier that will decelerate the copper diffusion in CdTe solar cell. Four estimated energy bandgap relations versus the Tellurium (Te concentrations and the (CdTe:Te layer thickness have been examined thoroughly during simulation. Correlation between energy bandgap with the CdTe thin film solar cell performance has also been established. Keywords: Numerical modelling, CdTe thin film, Solar cell, AMPS-1D, Bandgap

Facile and Scalable Fabrication of Highly Efficient Lead Iodide Perovskite Thin-Film Solar Cells in Air Using Gas Pump Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Bin; Gao, Lili; Liang, Lusheng; Chu, Qianqian; Song, Xiaoxuan; Li, Yan; Yang, Guanjun; Fan, Bin; Wang, Mingkui; Li, Chengxin; Li, Changjiu

2016-08-10

Control of the perovskite film formation process to produce high-quality organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite thin films with uniform morphology, high surface coverage, and minimum pinholes is of great importance to highly efficient solar cells. Herein, we report on large-area light-absorbing perovskite films fabrication with a new facile and scalable gas pump method. By decreasing the total pressure in the evaporation environment, the gas pump method can significantly enhance the solvent evaporation rate by 8 times faster and thereby produce an extremely dense, uniform, and full-coverage perovskite thin film. The resulting planar perovskite solar cells can achieve an impressive power conversion efficiency up to 19.00% with an average efficiency of 17.38 ± 0.70% for 32 devices with an area of 5 × 2 mm, 13.91% for devices with a large area up to 1.13 cm(2). The perovskite films can be easily fabricated in air conditions with a relative humidity of 45-55%, which definitely has a promising prospect in industrial application of large-area perovskite solar panels.

Self-standing chitosan films as dielectrics in organic thin-film transistors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Morgado

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Organic thin film transistors, using self-standing 50 µm thick chitosan films as dielectric, are fabricated using sublimed pentacene or two conjugated polymers deposited by spin coating as semiconductors. Field-effect mobilities are found to be similar to values obtained with other dielectrics and, in the case of pentacene, a value (0.13 cm2/(V•s comparable to high performing transistors was determined. In spite of the low On/Off ratios (a maximum value of 600 was obtained for the pentacene-based transistors, these are promising results for the area of sustainable organic electronics in general and for biocompatible electronics in particular.

Influence of oblique-angle sputtered transparent conducting oxides on performance of Si-based thin film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leem, Jung Woo; Yu, Jae Su [Department of Electronics and Radio Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-701 (Korea, Republic of)

2011-09-15

The transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films with low-refractive-index (low-n) are fabricated by the oblique-angle sputtering method. By using the experimentally measured physical data of the fabricated low-n TCO films as the simulation parameters, the effect of low-n TCOs on the performance of a-Si:H/{mu}c-Si:H tandem thin film solar cells is investigated using Silvaco ATLAS. The Al-doped zinc oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), and Sb-doped tin oxide films are deposited at the flux incidence angles of {theta}{sub i} = 0 (normal sputtering) and {theta}{sub i} = 80 from the sputtering target during the sputtering process. The oblique-angle sputtered films at {theta}{sub i} = 80 show the inclined columnar nanostructures compared to those at {theta}{sub i} = 0 , modifying the optical properties of the films. This is caused mainly by the increase of porosity within the film which leads to its low-n characteristics. The a-Si:H/{mu}c-Si:H tandem thin film solar cell incorporated with the low-n ITO film exhibits an improvement in the conversion efficiency of {proportional_to}1% under AM1.5g illumination because of its higher transmittance and lower absorption compared to that with the ITO film at {theta}{sub i} = 0 , indicating a conversion efficiency of 13.75%. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Dithienocoronenediimide-based copolymers as novel ambipolar semiconductors for organic thin-film transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Usta, Hakan; Newman, Christopher; Chen, Zhihua; Facchetti, Antonio

2012-07-17

A new class of ambipolar donor-acceptor π-conjugated polymers based on a dithienocoronenediimide core is presented. Solution-processed top-gate/bottom-contact thin film transistors (TFTs) exhibit electron and hole mobilities of up to 0.30 cm(2)/V·s and 0.04 cm(2)/V·s, respectively, which are the highest reported to date for an ambipolar polymer in ambient conditions. The polymers presented here are the first examples of coronenediimide-based semiconductors showing high organic TFT performances. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Transparent sculptured titania films for enhanced light absorption in thin-film Si solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hung, Kai-Hsiang, E-mail: khhung@itri.org.tw [Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Chiou, Guan-Di; Wong, Ming-Show [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan (China); Wang, Yu-Chih [Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China); Chung, I-Shan [Electronics and Optoelectronics Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China)

2011-12-30

This study presents a description of the enhancement of light absorption in thin-film silicon (Si) solar cells by using sculptured titania (TiO{sub 2}) films. We used an electron-beam evaporation system with a glancing angle deposition (GLAD) method to deposit porous TiO{sub 2} films on fluorine-doped SnO{sub 2} (FTO) substrates. The GLAD TiO{sub 2}/FTO films were used as conductive electrodes in hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon ({mu}c-Si:H) solar cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the GLAD TiO{sub 2} films are composed of sculptured nano-pillars on an FTO surface, and this nanostructure provides a synergistic route for light scattering enhancement. The GLAD TiO{sub 2}/FTO exhibited a 68% improvement of optical haze (at {lambda} = 600 nm). The {mu}c-Si:H solar cells consisting of the GLAD-nanostructured TiO{sub 2} resulted in a 5% improvement of short-circuit current (J{sub sc}) and yielded a cell efficiency of 6.6%.

Dyadic Green’s functions of thin films: Applications within plasmonic solar cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jung, Jesper; Søndergaard, Thomas; Pedersen, Thomas Garm

2011-01-01

Optimization and design of silicon solar cells by exploiting light scattering frommetal nanoparticles to increase the efficiency is addressed in the small particle limit from a fundamental point of view via the dyadic Green’s function formulation. Based on the dyadic Green’s function (Green......’s tensor) of a three-layer geometry, light scattering from electric point dipoles (representing small metal scatterers) located within a thin layer sandwiched between a substrate and a superstrate is analyzed. Starting from the full dyadic Green’s function we derive analytical near- and far....... The theoretical approach is used to analyze realistic configurations for plasmon-assisted silicon solar cells. We show that by embedding metal nanoscatterers in a thin film with a high refractive index (rutile TiO2 with n ≈ 2.5) on top of the silicon, the fraction of scattered light that couples into the solar...

Polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gall, S.; Becker, C.; Conrad, E.; Dogan, P.; Fenske, F.; Gorka, B.; Lee, K.Y.; Rau, B.; Ruske, F.; Rech, B. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie GmbH (formerly Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin GmbH), Department Silicon Photovoltaics (SE1), Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)

2009-06-15

Poly-Si thin-film solar cells on glass feature the potential to reach single-junction efficiencies of 15% or even higher at low costs. In this paper innovative approaches are discussed, which could lead to substantial efficiency improvements and significant cost reductions: (i) preparation of large-grained poly-Si films using the 'seed layer concept' targeting at high material quality, (ii) utilization of ZnO:Al-coated glass enabling simple contacting and light-trapping schemes, (iii) utilization of high-rate electron-beam evaporation for the absorber deposition offering a high potential for cost reduction. (author)

Multi-Material Front Contact for 19% Thin Film Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deelen, J. van; Tezsevin, Y.; Barink, M.

2016-01-01

The trade-off between transmittance and conductivity of the front contact material poses abottleneck for thin film solar panels. Normally, the front contact material is a metal oxide and the optimal cell configuration and panel efficiency were determined for various band gap materials, representing

Polymorphous silicon thin films produced in dusty plasmas: application to solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca i Cabarrocas, Pere; Chaabane, N; Kharchenko, A V; Tchakarov, S

2004-01-01

We summarize our current understanding of the optimization of PIN solar cells produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition from silane-hydrogen mixtures. To increase the deposition rate, the discharge is operated under plasma conditions close to powder formation, where silicon nanocrystals contribute to the deposition of so-called polymorphous silicon thin films. We show that the increase in deposition rate can be achieved via an accurate control of the plasma parameters. However, this also results in a highly defective interface in the solar cells due to the bombardment of the P-layer by positively charged nanocrystals during the deposition of the I-layer. We show that decreasing the ion energy by increasing the total pressure or by using silane-helium mixtures allows us to increase both the deposition rate and the solar cells efficiency, as required for cost effective thin film photovoltaics

Hydrogen effects on deep level defects in proton implanted Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} based thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, D.W.; Seol, M.S.; Kwak, D.W.; Oh, J.S. [Department of Physics, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715 (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, J.H. [Photo-electronic Hybrids Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 136-791 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, H.Y., E-mail: hycho@dongguk.edu [Department of Physics, Dongguk University, Seoul 100-715 (Korea, Republic of)

2012-08-01

Hydrogen effects on deep level defects and a defect generation in proton implanted Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) based thin films for solar cell were investigated. CIGS films with a thickness of 3 {mu}m were grown on a soda-lime glass substrate by a co-evaporation method, and then were implanted with protons. To study deep level defects in the proton implanted CIGS films, deep level transient spectroscopy measurements on the CIGS-based solar cells were carried out, these measurements found 6 traps (including 3 hole traps and 3 electron traps). In the proton implanted CIGS films, the deep level defects, which are attributed to the recombination centers of the CIGS solar cell, were significantly reduced in intensity, while a deep level defect was generated around 0.28 eV above the valence band maximum. Therefore, we suggest that most deep level defects in CIGS films can be controlled by hydrogen effects. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Proton implanted Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin film and solar cell are prepared. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Deep level defects of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin film and solar cell are investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Hydrogenation using proton implantation and H{sub 2} annealing reduces deep level defects. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Hydrogenation could enhance electrical properties and efficiency of solar cells.

Effect of oxygen to argon flow ratio on the properties of Al-doped ZnO films for amorphous silicon thin film solar cell applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Yang-Shih [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC (China); Lien, Shui-Yang, E-mail: syl@mdu.edu.tw [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MingDao University, ChangHua 52345, Taiwan, ROC (China); Huang, Yung-Chuan [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MingDao University, ChangHua 52345, Taiwan, ROC (China); Wang, Chao-Chun [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC (China); Liu, Chueh-Yang [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, MingDao University, ChangHua 52345, Taiwan, ROC (China); Nautiyal, Asheesh [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Road, Chungli, 320 Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC (China); Wuu, Dong-Sing [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC (China); Lee, Shuo-Jun [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Road, Chungli, 320 Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC (China)

2013-02-01

Transparent conductive oxide thin films in solar cell fabrication have attracted much attention due to their high conductivity and transmittance. In this paper, we have investigated the aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films prepared by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering on Asahi U-type SnO{sub 2} glass with different O{sub 2}/Ar flow ratios in vacuum chamber. Furthermore, the micro-structural, electrical, and optical properties of AZO/SnO{sub 2} films were studied. The change in O{sub 2}/Ar flow ratios is found to significantly affect the haze value, and slightly affect electrical resistivity and transmittance of the films. Afterward, the fabricated AZO thin films with different O{sub 2}/Ar flow ratios were used for building the solar cell devices. The current–voltage and external quantum efficiency characteristics were investigated for the solar cell devices. The optimized O{sub 2}/Ar flow ratio of 3 for solar device shows the best efficiency of 10.41%, and a 20% increase in short-circuit current density compared to typical Asahi solar cells. - Highlights: ► A thin Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) film has been deposited on SnO{sub 2} substrates. ► The AZO film deposited at an O{sub 2}/Ar ratio of 3 shows low resistivity and high haze. ► The AZO film contains tiny grains that enhance light scattering. ► The amorphous silicon solar cell with the AZO layer shows a 20% increase in Jsc.

Photonic-Crystal-Based Thin Film Sensor for Detecting Volatile Organic Compounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, Hyung Kwan; Park, Jung Yul [Sogang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-03-15

Early detection of toxic gases, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), is important for safety and environmental protection. However, the conventional detection methods require long-term measurement times and expensive equipment. In this study, we propose a thin-film-type chemical sensor for VOCs, which consists of self assembled monosize nanoparticles for 3-D photonic crystal structures and polydimthylsiloxane (PDMS) film. It is operated without any external power source, is truly portable, and has a fast response time. The structure color of the sensor changes when it is exposed to VOCs, because VOCs induce a swelling of the PDMS. Therefore, using this principle of color change, we can create a thin-film sensor for immediate detection of various types of VOCs. The proposed device evidences that a fast response time of just seconds, along with a clear color change, are successfully observed when the sensor is exposed to gas-phase VOCs.

Thin Film & Deposition Systems (Windows)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — Coating Lab: Contains chambers for growing thin film window coatings. Plasma Applications Coating Lab: Contains chambers for growing thin film window coatings. Solar...

Management of light absorption in extraordinary optical transmission based ultra-thin-film tandem solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mashooq, Kishwar; Talukder, Muhammad Anisuzzaman

2016-01-01

Although ultra-thin-film solar cells can be attractive in reducing the cost, they suffer from low absorption as the thickness of the active layer is usually much smaller than the wavelength of incident light. Different nano-photonic techniques, including plasmonic structures, are being explored to increase the light absorption in ultra-thin-film solar cells. More than one layer of active materials with different energy bandgaps can be used in tandem to increase the light absorption as well. However, due to different amount of light absorption in different active layers, photo-generated currents in different active layers will not be the same. The current mismatch between the tandem layers makes them ineffective in increasing the efficiency. In this work, we investigate the light absorption properties of tandem solar cells with two ultra-thin active layers working as two subcells and a metal layer with periodically perforated holes in-between the two subcells. While the metal layer helps to overcome the current mismatch, the periodic holes increase the absorption of incident light by helping extraordinary optical transmission of the incident light from the top to the bottom subcell, and by coupling the incident light to plasmonic and photonic modes within ultra-thin active layers. We extensively study the effects of the geometry of holes in the intermediate metal layer on the light absorption properties of tandem solar cells with ultra-thin active layers. We also study how different metals in the intermediate layer affect the light absorption; how the geometry of holes in the intermediate layer affects the absorption when the active layer materials are changed; and how the intermediate metal layer affects the collection of photo-generated electron-hole pairs at the terminals. We find that in a solar cell with 6,6-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester top subcell and copper indium gallium selenide bottom subcell, if the periodic holes in the metal layer are square or

Management of light absorption in extraordinary optical transmission based ultra-thin-film tandem solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mashooq, Kishwar; Talukder, Muhammad Anisuzzaman, E-mail: anis@eee.buet.ac.bd [Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1205 (Bangladesh)

2016-05-21

Although ultra-thin-film solar cells can be attractive in reducing the cost, they suffer from low absorption as the thickness of the active layer is usually much smaller than the wavelength of incident light. Different nano-photonic techniques, including plasmonic structures, are being explored to increase the light absorption in ultra-thin-film solar cells. More than one layer of active materials with different energy bandgaps can be used in tandem to increase the light absorption as well. However, due to different amount of light absorption in different active layers, photo-generated currents in different active layers will not be the same. The current mismatch between the tandem layers makes them ineffective in increasing the efficiency. In this work, we investigate the light absorption properties of tandem solar cells with two ultra-thin active layers working as two subcells and a metal layer with periodically perforated holes in-between the two subcells. While the metal layer helps to overcome the current mismatch, the periodic holes increase the absorption of incident light by helping extraordinary optical transmission of the incident light from the top to the bottom subcell, and by coupling the incident light to plasmonic and photonic modes within ultra-thin active layers. We extensively study the effects of the geometry of holes in the intermediate metal layer on the light absorption properties of tandem solar cells with ultra-thin active layers. We also study how different metals in the intermediate layer affect the light absorption; how the geometry of holes in the intermediate layer affects the absorption when the active layer materials are changed; and how the intermediate metal layer affects the collection of photo-generated electron-hole pairs at the terminals. We find that in a solar cell with 6,6-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester top subcell and copper indium gallium selenide bottom subcell, if the periodic holes in the metal layer are square or

Process parameter impact on properties of sputtered large-area Mo bilayers for CIGS thin film solar cell applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badgujar, Amol C.; Dhage, Sanjay R., E-mail: dhage@arci.res.in; Joshi, Shrikant V.

2015-08-31

Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) has emerged as a promising candidate for thin film solar cells, with efficiencies approaching those of silicon-based solar cells. To achieve optimum performance in CIGS solar cells, uniform, conductive, stress-free, well-adherent, reflective, crystalline molybdenum (Mo) thin films with preferred orientation (110) are desirable as a back contact on large area glass substrates. The present study focuses on cylindrical rotating DC magnetron sputtered bilayer Mo thin films on 300 mm × 300 mm soda lime glass (SLG) substrates. Key sputtering variables, namely power and Ar gas flow rates, were optimized to achieve best structural, electrical and optical properties. The Mo films were comprehensively characterized and found to possess high degree of thickness uniformity over large area. Best crystallinity, reflectance and sheet resistance was obtained at high sputtering powers and low argon gas flow rates, while mechanical properties like adhesion and residual stress were found to be best at low sputtering power and high argon gas flow rate, thereby indicating a need to arrive at a suitable trade-off during processing. - Highlights: • Sputtering of bilayer molybdenum thin films on soda lime glass • Large area deposition using rotating cylindrical direct current magnetron • Trade of sputter process parameters power and pressure • High uniformity of thickness and best electrical properties obtained • Suitable mechanical and optical properties of molybdenum are achieved for CIGS application.

Enhanced Charge Extraction of Li-Doped TiO₂ for Efficient Thermal-Evaporated Sb₂S₃ Thin Film Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Chunfeng; Luo, Jingting; Lan, Huabin; Fan, Bo; Peng, Huanxin; Zhao, Jun; Sun, Huibin; Zheng, Zhuanghao; Liang, Guangxing; Fan, Ping

2018-02-28

We provided a new method to improve the efficiency of Sb₂S₃ thin film solar cells. The TiO₂ electron transport layers were doped by lithium to improve their charge extraction properties for the thermal-evaporated Sb₂S₃ solar cells. The Mott-Schottky curves suggested a change of energy band and faster charge transport in the Li-doped TiO₂ films. Compared with the undoped TiO₂, Li-doped mesoporous TiO₂ dramatically improved the photo-voltaic performance of the thermal-evaporated Sb₂S₃ thin film solar cells, with the average power conversion efficiency ( PCE ) increasing from 1.79% to 4.03%, as well as the improved open-voltage ( V oc ), short-circuit current ( J sc ) and fill factors. The best device based on Li-doped TiO₂ achieved a power conversion efficiency up to 4.42% as well as a V oc of 0.645 V, which are the highest values among the reported thermal-evaporated Sb₂S₃ solar cells. This study showed that Li-doping on TiO₂ can effectively enhance the charge extraction properties of electron transport layers, offering a new strategy to improve the efficiency of Sb₂S₃-based solar cells.

Research and development of CdTe based thin film PV solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Diso, Dahiru Garba

The motivation behind this research is to bring cheap, low-cost and clean energy technologies to the society. Colossal use of fossil fuel has created noticeable pollution problems contributing to climate change and health hazards. Silicon based solar cells have dominated the market but it is cost is high due to the manufacturing process. Therefore, the way forward is to develop thin films solar cells using low-cost attractive materials, grown by cheaper, scalable and manufacturable techniques.The aim and objectives of this work is to develop low-cost, high efficiency solar cell using electrodeposition (ED) technique. The material layers include CdS and ZnTe as the window materials, while the absorber material is CdTe. Fabricating a suitable devices for solar energy conversion (i.e. glass/conducting glass/window material/absorber material/metal) structure. Traditional way of fabricating this structure is to grow window material (CdS) using chemical bath deposition (CBD) and absorber material (CdTe) using electrodeposition. However, CBD is a batch process and therefore creates large volumes of Cd-containing waste solutions each time adding high cost in manufacturing process. This research programme is therefore on development of an "All ED-solar cells" structure.Material studies were carried out using photoelectrochemical (PEC) studies, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, the electrical characterisation of fully fabricated devices was performed using current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements.This research programme has demonstrated that CdS and ZnTe window materials can be electrodeposited and used in thin film solar cell devices. The CdS electrolytic bath can be used for a period of 7 months without discarding it like in the CBD process which usually has life

On the Scalar Scattering Theory for Thin-Film Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jäger, K.

2012-01-01

Nano-textured interfaces between two media of different refractive indices scatter light. The angular distribution and the intensity of the scattered light are deter- mined by the geometry of the nano-textures and the difference of the refractive indices of the two media. Thin-film silicon solar

Metal-electrode-free Window-like Organic Solar Cells with p-Doped Carbon Nanotube Thin-film Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Il; Delacou, Clement; Kaskela, Antti; Kauppinen, Esko I.; Maruyama, Shigeo; Matsuo, Yutaka

2016-08-01

Organic solar cells are flexible and inexpensive, and expected to have a wide range of applications. Many transparent organic solar cells have been reported and their success hinges on full transparency and high power conversion efficiency. Recently, carbon nanotubes and graphene, which meet these criteria, have been used in transparent conductive electrodes. However, their use in top electrodes has been limited by mechanical difficulties in fabrication and doping. Here, expensive metal top electrodes were replaced with high-performance, easy-to-transfer, aerosol-synthesized carbon nanotubes to produce transparent organic solar cells. The carbon nanotubes were p-doped by two new methods: HNO3 doping via ‘sandwich transfer’, and MoOx thermal doping via ‘bridge transfer’. Although both of the doping methods improved the performance of the carbon nanotubes and the photovoltaic performance of devices, sandwich transfer, which gave a 4.1% power conversion efficiency, was slightly more effective than bridge transfer, which produced a power conversion efficiency of 3.4%. Applying a thinner carbon nanotube film with 90% transparency decreased the efficiency to 3.7%, which was still high. Overall, the transparent solar cells had an efficiency of around 50% that of non-transparent metal-based solar cells (7.8%).

Liquid crystals for organic thin-film transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Iino, Hiroaki; Usui, Takayuki; Hanna, Jun-Ichi

2015-04-01

Crystalline thin films of organic semiconductors are a good candidate for field effect transistor (FET) materials in printed electronics. However, there are currently two main problems, which are associated with inhomogeneity and poor thermal durability of these films. Here we report that liquid crystalline materials exhibiting a highly ordered liquid crystal phase of smectic E (SmE) can solve both these problems. We design a SmE liquid crystalline material, 2-decyl-7-phenyl-[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (Ph-BTBT-10), for FETs and synthesize it. This material provides uniform and molecularly flat polycrystalline thin films reproducibly when SmE precursor thin films are crystallized, and also exhibits high durability of films up to 200 °C. In addition, the mobility of FETs is dramatically enhanced by about one order of magnitude (over 10 cm2 V-1 s-1) after thermal annealing at 120 °C in bottom-gate-bottom-contact FETs. We anticipate the use of SmE liquid crystals in solution-processed FETs may help overcome upcoming difficulties with novel technologies for printed electronics.

Measurement of incident molecular temperature in the formation of organic thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Abe, Takahiro; Matsubara, Ryosuke; Hayakawa, Munetaka; Shimoyama, Akifumi; Tanaka, Takaaki; Tsuji, Akira; Takahashi, Yoshikazu; Kubono, Atsushi

2018-03-01

To investigate the effects of incident molecular temperature on organic-thin-film growth by vacuum evaporation, quantitative analysis of molecular temperature is required. In this study, we propose a method of determining molecular temperature based on the heat exchange between a platinum filament and molecular vapor. Molecular temperature is estimated from filament temperature, which remains unchanged even under molecular vapor supply. The results indicate that our method has sufficient sensitivity to evaluate the molecular temperature under the typical growth rate used for fabrication of functional organic thin films.

Solvent-Assisted Gel Printing for Micropatterning Thin Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Perovskite Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Beomjin; Hwang, Ihn; Cho, Sung Hwan; Kim, Eui Hyuk; Cha, Soonyoung; Lee, Jinseong; Kang, Han Sol; Cho, Suk Man; Choi, Hyunyong; Park, Cheolmin

2016-09-27

While tremendous efforts have been made for developing thin perovskite films suitable for a variety of potential photoelectric applications such as solar cells, field-effect transistors, and photodetectors, only a few works focus on the micropatterning of a perovskite film which is one of the most critical issues for large area and uniform microarrays of perovskite-based devices. Here we demonstrate a simple but robust method of micropatterning a thin perovskite film with controlled crystalline structure which guarantees to preserve its intrinsic photoelectric properties. A variety of micropatterns of a perovskite film are fabricated by either microimprinting or transfer-printing a thin spin-coated precursor film in soft-gel state with a topographically prepatterned elastomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) mold, followed by thermal treatment for complete conversion of the precursor film to a perovskite one. The key materials development of our solvent-assisted gel printing is to prepare a thin precursor film with a high-boiling temperature solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide. The residual solvent in the precursor gel film makes the film moldable upon microprinting with a patterned PDMS mold, leading to various perovskite micropatterns in resolution of a few micrometers over a large area. Our nondestructive micropatterning process does not harm the intrinsic photoelectric properties of a perovskite film, which allows for realizing arrays of parallel-type photodetectors containing micropatterns of a perovskite film with reliable photoconduction performance. The facile transfer of a micropatterned soft-gel precursor film on other substrates including mechanically flexible plastics can further broaden its applications to flexible photoelectric systems.

Optoelectronic properties of R-F magnetron sputtered Cadmium Tin Oxide (Cd2SnO4) thin films for CdS/CdTe thin film solar cell applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeyadheepan, K.; Thamilselvan, M.; Kim, Kyunghae; Yi, Junsin; Sanjeeviraja, C.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Characterization of “as-prepared” Cd 2 SnO 4 thin films ideal for thin film solar cells. • Lowest value of resistivity with high mobility attained for the as-prepared Cd 2 SnO 4 films. • Maximum transmittance of 93% in the visible range for the as-prepared films. • Effect of substrate temperature on the scattering mechanism of TCO. - Abstract: The influence of substrate temperature on the microstructural behavior, optical, electrical properties and on the scattering mechanism of charge carriers were studied for the as-prepared radio-frequency (R-F) magnetron sputtered Cadmium Tin Oxide (Cd 2 SnO 4 ) thin films. Films prepared at the substrate temperature of 300 °C were found to be polycrystalline in nature with preferential orientation along (3 1 1) plane. Well pronounced Moss–Burstein shift, in the transmittance spectra with dispersions in the optical band gap from 3.07 to 3.30 eV, was observed at substrate temperatures between 25 and 300 °C. Optical property of high visible transmittance was retained by the films. Analysis of the electrical properties on the prepared crystalline Cd 2 SnO 4 films showed a calculated resistivity of 10 −3 –10 −4 Ω cm, with n-type carrier density in the range of 10 19 –10 20 cm −3 and the charge carrier mobility in the range of 63–30 cm 2 /V s. The effects of structural, compositional and optical properties on the scattering mechanism of charge carrier are elaborated and reported to be an experimental evidence for the theoretical predictions. The results revealed the essential DC electrical conduction behavior, which is ideal for the fabrication of Cd 2 SnO 4 -based CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells

High-rate deposition of epitaxial layers for efficient low-temperature thin film epitaxial silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oberbeck, L.; Schmidt, J.; Wagner, T.A.; Bergmann, R.B. [Stuttgart Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Physical Electronics

2001-07-01

Low-temperature deposition of Si for thin-film solar cells has previously been hampered by low deposition rates and low material quality, usually reflected by a low open-circuit voltage of these solar cells. In contrast, ion-assisted deposition produces Si films with a minority-carrier diffusion length of 40 {mu}m, obtained at a record deposition rate of 0.8 {mu}m/min and a deposition temperature of 650{sup o}C with a prebake at 810{sup o}C. A thin-film Si solar cell with a 20-{mu}m-thick epitaxial layer achieves an open-circuit voltage of 622 mV and a conversion efficiency of 12.7% without any light trapping structures and without high-temperature solar cell process steps. (author)

Band alignment measurements at heterojunction interfaces in layered thin film solar cells & thermoelectrics

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Fang

2011-12-01

Public awareness of the increasing energy crisis and the related serious environmental concerns has led to a significantly growing demand for alternative clean and renewable energy resources. Thin film are widely applied in multiple renewable energy devices owing to the reduced amount of raw materials and increase flexibility of choosing from low-cost candidates, which translates directly into reduced capital cost. This is a key driving force to make renewable technology competitive in the energy market. This thesis is focused on the measurement of energy level alignments at interfaces of thin film structures for renewable energy applications. There are two primary foci: II -VI semiconductor ZnSe/ZnTe thin film solar cells and Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 thin film structures for thermoelectric applications. In both cases, the electronic structure and energy band alignment at interfaces usually controls the carrier transport behavior and determines the quality of the device. High-resolution photoemission spectroscopy (lab-based XPS & synchrotron-based UPS) was used to investigate the chemical and electronic properties of epitaxial Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 thin films, in order to validate the anticipated band alignment at interfaces in Bi 2Te3/Sb2Te3 superlattices as one favoring electron-transmission. A simple, thorough two-step treatment of a chemical etching in dilute hydrochloric acid solution and a subsequent annealing at ˜150°C under ultra-high vacuum environment is established to remove the surface oxides completely. It is an essential step to ensure the measurements on electronic states are acquired on stoichimetric, oxide-free clean surface of Bi 2Te3 and Sb2Te3 films. The direct measurement of valence band offsets (VBO) at a real Sb 2Te3/Bi2Te3 interface is designed based on the Kraut model; a special stacking film structure is prepared intentionally: sufficiently thin Sb2Te3 film on top of Bi2Te 3 that photoelectrons from both of them are collected simultaneously. From a

Plasmonic Light Trapping in Thin-Film Solar Cells: Impact of Modeling on Performance Prediction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Micco

2015-06-01

Full Text Available We present a comparative study on numerical models used to predict the absorption enhancement in thin-film solar cells due to the presence of structured back-reflectors exciting, at specific wavelengths, hybrid plasmonic-photonic resonances. To evaluate the effectiveness of the analyzed models, they have been applied in a case study: starting from a U-shaped textured glass thin-film, µc-Si:H solar cells have been successfully fabricated. The fabricated cells, with different intrinsic layer thicknesses, have been morphologically, optically and electrically characterized. The experimental results have been successively compared with the numerical predictions. We have found that, in contrast to basic models based on the underlying schematics of the cell, numerical models taking into account the real morphology of the fabricated device, are able to effectively predict the cells performances in terms of both optical absorption and short-circuit current values.

Superior light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells through nano imprint lithography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soppe, W.J.; Dorenkamper, M.S.; Schropp, R.E.I.; Pex, P.P.A.C.

2013-10-15

ECN and partners have developed a fabrication process based on nanoimprint lithography (NIL) of textures for light trapping in thin film solar cells such as thin-film silicon, OPV, CIGS and CdTe. The process can be applied in roll-to-roll mode when using a foil substrate or in roll-to-plate mode when using a glass substrate. The lacquer also serves as an electrically insulating layer for cells if steel foil is used as substrate, to enable monolithic series interconnection. In this paper we will show the superior light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells made on steel foil with nanotextured back contacts. We have made single junction a-Si and {mu}c-Si and a-Si/{mu}c-Si tandem cells, where we applied several types of nano-imprints with random and periodic structures. We will show that the nano-imprinted back contact enables more than 30% increase of current in comparison with non-textured back contacts and that optimized periodic textures outperform state-of-the-art random textures. For a-Si cells we obtained Jsc of 18 mA/cm{sup 2} and for {mu}c-Si cells more than 24 mA/cm{sup 2}. Tandem cells with a total Si absorber layer thickness of only 1350 nm have an initial efficiency of 11%.

Thin film device applications

CERN Document Server

Kaur, Inderjeet

1983-01-01

Two-dimensional materials created ab initio by the process of condensation of atoms, molecules, or ions, called thin films, have unique properties significantly different from the corresponding bulk materials as a result of their physical dimensions, geometry, nonequilibrium microstructure, and metallurgy. Further, these characteristic features of thin films can be drasti­ cally modified and tailored to obtain the desired and required physical characteristics. These features form the basis of development of a host of extraordinary active and passive thin film device applications in the last two decades. On the one extreme, these applications are in the submicron dimensions in such areas as very large scale integration (VLSI), Josephson junction quantum interference devices, magnetic bubbles, and integrated optics. On the other extreme, large-area thin films are being used as selective coatings for solar thermal conversion, solar cells for photovoltaic conver­ sion, and protection and passivating layers. Ind...

3-D modelling of a bilayer heterojunction organic solar cell based on ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The thin film multilayer stacking theory is applied to the bilayer heterojunction organic solar cell, with the optical matrix of the Abeles theory leading to new expression of generation rate and density of exciton photogenerated in the organic photoactive layer of CuPc/C60. The excitons density is investigated considering the ...

Protection of MoO3 high work function by organic thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Chenggong; Irfan, Irfan; Gao, Yongli

2014-01-01

The effects of air exposure are investigated for molybdenum trioxide (MoO 3 ) covered with organic thin films using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that the severe drop of the work function of MoO 3 by air exposure is substantially reduced by the organic thin films. Both CuPc and C 60 are used for the investigations. The results indicate that the MoO 3 surface can be passivated by approximately two monolayers of organic thin films against exposure to air

Commercial Development Of Ovonic Thin Film Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ovshinsky, Stanford R.

1983-09-01

subsequent paper) which has clearly demonstrated that the basic barrier to low-cost production has been broken through and that one can now speak realistically of delivering power directly from the sun for under a dollar per peak watt merely by making larger versions of this basic continuous web, large-area thin-film machine. We have made one square foot amorphous silicon alloy PIN devices with conversion efficiencies in the range of 7%, and in the laboratory, we have reported smaller area PIN de-vices in the 10% conversion efficiency range. In addition, much higher energy conversion efficiencies can be obtained within the same process by using multi-cell layered or tandem thin-film solar cell structures (see Figure 1). These devices exhibit enhanced efficiency by utilizing a wider range of the solar spectrum. Since the theoretical maximum efficiency for multi-cell structures is over 60%, one can certainly realistically anticipate the pro-duction of thin-film amorphous photovoltaic devices with efficiencies as high as 30%. Our production device is already a two-cell tandem, as we have solved not only the problems of interfacing the individual cell components but also the difficulties associated with a one foot square format deposited on a continuous web. Figure 2 shows a continuous roll of Ovonic solar cells. Realistic calculations for a three-cell tandem thin-film device using amorphous semiconductor alloys with 1.8eV, 1.5eV, and 1.0eV optical band gaps indicate that solar energy conversion efficiencies of 20-30% can be achieved.

Energy efficiency of a photovoltaic cell based thin films CZTS by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Energy efficiency of a photovoltaic cell based thin films CZTS by SCAPS. ... use of natural resources, the use of renewable energy including solar photovoltaic ... η for typical structures of ZnO / i- ZnO / CdS / CZTS and ITO / ZnO / CdS / CZTS.

Application of rapid thermal processing on SiNx thin film to solar cells

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Youjie LI; Peiqing LUO; Zhibin ZHOU; Rongqiang CUI; Jianhua HUANG; Jingxiao WANG

2008-01-01

Rapid thermal processing (RTP) of SiNx thin films from PECVD with low temperature was investigated. A special processing condition of this technique which could greatly increase the minority lifetime was found in the experiments. The processing mechanism and the application of the technique to silicon solar cells fabrication were dis-cussed. A main achievement is an increase of the minority lifetime in silicon wafer with SiNx thin film by about 200% after the RTP was reached. PC-1D simulation results exhibit an enhancement of the efficiency of the solar cell by 0.42% coming from the minority lifetime improvement. The same experiment was also conducted with P-diffusion silicon wafers, but the increment of minority lifetime is just about 55%. It could be expected to improve the solar cell efficiency if it would be used in silicon solar cells fabrication with the combination of laser firing contact technique.

Recent progress on thin-film encapsulation technologies for organic electronic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Duan; Yang, Yong-Qiang; Chen, Zheng; Tao, Ye; Liu, Yun-Fei

2016-03-01

Among the advanced electronic devices, flexible organic electronic devices with rapid development are the most promising technologies to customers and industries. Organic thin films accommodate low-cost fabrication and can exploit diverse molecules in inexpensive plastic light emitting diodes, plastic solar cells, and even plastic lasers. These properties may ultimately enable organic materials for practical applications in industry. However, the stability of organic electronic devices still remains a big challenge, because of the difficulty in fabricating commercial products with flexibility. These organic materials can be protected using substrates and barriers such as glass and metal; however, this results in a rigid device and does not satisfy the applications demanding flexible devices. Plastic substrates and transparent flexible encapsulation barriers are other possible alternatives; however, these offer little protection to oxygen and water, thus rapidly degrading the devices. Thin-film encapsulation (TFE) technology is most effective in preventing water vapor and oxygen permeation into the flexible devices. Because of these (and other) reasons, there has been an intense interest in developing transparent barrier materials with much lower permeabilities, and their market is expected to reach over 550 million by 2025. In this study, the degradation mechanism of organic electronic devices is reviewed. To increase the stability of devices in air, several TFE technologies were applied to provide efficient barrier performance. In this review, the degradation mechanism of organic electronic devices, permeation rate measurement, traditional encapsulation technologies, and TFE technologies are presented.

Hybrid thin films based on bilayer heterojunction of titania nanocrystals/polypyrrole/natural dyes (Kappaphycus alvarezii) materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ghazali, Salmah Mohd; Salleh, Hasiah; Dagang, Ahmad Nazri; Ghazali, Mohd Sabri Mohd; Ali, Nik Aziz Nik; Rashid, Norlaily Abdul; Kamarulzaman, Nurul Huda; Ahmad, Wan Almaz Dhafina Che Wan

2017-09-01

In this research, hybrid thin films which consist of a combination of organic red seaweed (RS) (Kappaphycus alvarezii) and polypyrrole (PPy) with inorganic titania nanocrystals (TiO2 NCs) materials were fabricated. These hybrid thin films were fabricated accordingly with bilayer heterojunction of ITO/TiO2 NCs/PPy/RS via electrochemical method using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The effect of number of scans (thickness) of titania on optical and electrical properties of hybrid thin films were studied. TiO2 NCs function as an electron acceptor and electronic conductor. Meanwhile, PPy acts as holes conductor and RS dye acts as a photosensitizer enhances the optical and electrical properties of the thin films. The UV absorption spectrum of TiO2 NCs, PPy and RS are characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, while the functional group of RS was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The UV-Vis spectra showed that TiO2 NCs, PPy and RS were absorbed over a wide range of light spectrum which were 200-300 nm, 300-900 nm and 250-900 nm; respectively. The FTIR spectra of the RS showed the presence of hydroxyl group which was responsible for a good sensitizer for these hybrid solar cells. The electrical conductivity of these hybrid thin films were measured by using four point probes. The electrical conductivity of ITO/ (1)TiO2 NCs/PPy/RS thin film under the radiation of 100 Wm-2 was 0.062 Scm-1, hence this hybrid thin films can be applied in solar cell application.

Wet-Chemical Surface Texturing of Sputter-Deposited ZnO:Al Films as Front Electrode for Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xia Yan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs play a major role as the front electrodes of thin-film silicon (Si solar cells, as they can provide optical scattering and hence improved photon absorption inside the devices. In this paper we report on the surface texturing of aluminium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al or AZO films for improved light trapping in thin-film Si solar cells. The AZO films are deposited onto soda-lime glass sheets via pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. Several promising AZO texturing methods are investigated using diluted hydrochloric (HCl and hydrofluoric acid (HF, through a two-step etching process. The developed texturing procedure combines the advantages of the HCl-induced craters and the smaller and jagged—but laterally more uniform—features created by HF etching. In the two-step process, the second etching step further enhances the optical haze, while simultaneously improving the uniformity of the texture features created by the HCl etch. The resulting AZO films show large haze values of above 40%, good scattering into large angles, and a surface angle distribution that is centred at around 30°, which is known from the literature to provide efficient light trapping for thin-film Si solar cells.

Paths to light trapping in thin film GaAs solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Jianling; Fang, Hanlin; Su, Rongbin; Li, Kezheng; Song, Jindong; Krauss, Thomas F; Li, Juntao; Martins, Emiliano R

2018-03-19

It is now well established that light trapping is an essential element of thin film solar cell design. Numerous light trapping geometries have already been applied to thin film cells, especially to silicon-based devices. Less attention has been paid to light trapping in GaAs thin film cells, mainly because light trapping is considered less attractive due to the material's direct bandgap and the fact that GaAs suffers from strong surface recombination, which particularly affects etched nanostructures. Here, we study light trapping structures that are implemented in a high-bandgap material on the back of the GaAs active layer, thereby not perturbing the integrity of the GaAs active layer. We study photonic crystal and quasi-random nanostructures both by simulation and by experiment and find that the photonic crystal structures are superior because they exhibit fewer but stronger resonances that are better matched to the narrow wavelength range where GaAs benefits from light trapping. In fact, we show that a 1500 nm thick cell with photonic crystals achieves the same short circuit current as an unpatterned 4000 nm thick cell. These findings are significant because they afford a sizeable reduction in active layer thickness, and therefore a reduction in expensive epitaxial growth time and cost, yet without compromising performance.

Light management in large area thin-film silicon solar modules

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Losio, P.A.; Caglar, O.; Cashmore, J.S.; Hötzel, J.E.; Ristau, S.; Holovský, Jakub; Remeš, Zdeněk; Sinicco, I.

2015-01-01

Roč. 143, Dec (2015), s. 375-385 ISSN 0927-0248 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-05053S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : micromorph * thin-film silicon solar cells * light management * ZnO Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 4.732, year: 2015

Nanostructured refractory thin films for solar applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ollier, E.; Dunoyer, N.; Dellea, O.; Szambolics, H.

2014-08-01

Selective solar absorbers are key elements of all solar thermal systems. Solar thermal panels and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems aim respectively at producing heat and electricity. In both cases, a surface receives the solar radiation and is designed to have the highest optical absorption (lowest optical reflectivity) of the solar radiation in the visible wavelength range where the solar intensity is the highest. It also has a low emissivity in the infrared (IR) range in order to avoid radiative thermal losses. Current solutions in the state of the art usually consist in deposited interferential thin films or in cermets [1]. Structured surfaces have been proposed and have been simulated because they are supposed to be more efficient when the solar radiation is not normal to the receiving surface and because they could potentially be fabricated with refractory materials able to sustain high operating temperatures. This work presents a new method to fabricate micro/nanostructured surfaces on molybdenum (refractory metal with a melting temperature of 2623°C). This method now allows obtaining a refractory selective surface with an excellent optical selectivity and a very high absorption in the visible range. This high absorption performance was obtained by achieving a double structuration at micro and nano scales thanks to an innovative process flow.

Ion beam-based characterization of multicomponent oxide thin films and thin film layered structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krauss, A.R.; Rangaswamy, M.; Lin, Yuping; Gruen, D.M.; Schultz, J.A.; Schmidt, H.K.; Chang, R.P.H.

1992-01-01

Fabrication of thin film layered structures of multi-component materials such as high temperature superconductors, ferroelectric and electro-optic materials, and alloy semiconductors, and the development of hybrid materials requires understanding of film growth and interface properties. For High Temperature Superconductors, the superconducting coherence length is extremely short (5--15 Angstrom), and fabrication of reliable devices will require control of film properties at extremely sharp interfaces; it will be necessary to verify the integrity of thin layers and layered structure devices over thicknesses comparable to the atomic layer spacing. Analytical techniques which probe the first 1--2 atomic layers are therefore necessary for in-situ characterization of relevant thin film growth processes. However, most surface-analytical techniques are sensitive to a region within 10--40 Angstrom of the surface and are physically incompatible with thin film deposition and are typically restricted to ultra high vacuum conditions. A review of ion beam-based analytical methods for the characterization of thin film and multi-layered thin film structures incorporating layers of multicomponent oxides is presented. Particular attention will be paid to the use of time-of-flight techniques based on the use of 1- 15 key ion beams which show potential for use as nondestructive, real-time, in-situ surface diagnostics for the growth of multicomponent metal and metal oxide thin films

Optimized flexible cover films for improved conversion efficiency in thin film flexible solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Guterman, Sidney; Wen, Xin; Gudavalli, Ganesh; Rhajbhandari, Pravakar; Dhakal, Tara P.; Wilt, David; Klotzkin, David

2018-05-01

Thin film solar cell technologies are being developed for lower cost and flexible applications. For such technologies, it is desirable to have inexpensive, flexible cover strips. In this paper, we demonstrate that transparent silicone cover glass adhesive can be doped with TiO2 nanoparticles to achieve an optimal refractive index and maximize the performance of the cell. Cells covered with the film doped with nanoparticles at the optimal concentration demonstrated a ∼1% increase in photocurrent over the plain (undoped) film. In addition, fused silica beads can be incorporated into the flexible cover slip to realize a built-in pseudomorphic glass diffuser layer as well. This additional degree of freedom in engineering flexible solar cell covers allows maximal performance from a given cell for minimal increased cost.

Study of Electrical Transport Properties of Thin Films Used as HTL and as Active Layer in Organic Solar Cells, through Impedance Spectroscopy Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camilo A. Otalora

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Impedance spectroscopy (IS is used for studying the electrical transport properties of thin films used in organic solar cells with structure ITO/HTL/active layer/cathode, where PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene:polystyrene sulfonic acid and CuPC (tetrasulfonated copper-phthalocyanine were investigated as HTL (hole transport layer and P3HT:PCBM (poly-3-hexylthiophene:phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester blends prepared from mesitylene and chlorobenzene based solutions were studied as active layer and Ag and Al were used as cathode. The study allowed determining the influence of the type of solvent used for the preparation of the active layer as well as the speed at which the solvents are removed on the carriers mobility. The effect of exposing the layer of P3HT to the air on its mobility was also studied. It was established that samples of P3HT and P3HT:PCBM prepared using mesitylene as a solvent have mobility values significantly higher than those prepared from chlorobenzene which is the solvent most frequently used. It was also determined that the mobility of carriers in P3HT films strongly decreases when this sample is exposed to air. In addition, it was found that the electrical properties of P3HT:PCBM thin films can be improved by removing the solvent slowly which is achieved by increasing the pressure inside the system of spin-coating during the film growth.

Thin Film Photovoltaic Partnership Project | Photovoltaic Research | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Thin Film Photovoltaic Partnership Project Thin Film Photovoltaic Partnership Project NREL's Thin Film Photovoltaic (PV) Partnership Project led R&D on emerging thin-film solar technologies in the United States from 1994 to 2009. The project made many advances in thin-film PV technologies that allowed

Organic donor-acceptor thin film systems. Towards optimized growth conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keller, Kerstin Andrea

2009-06-30

In this work the preparation of organic donor-acceptor thin films was studied. A chamber for organic molecular beam deposition was designed and integrated into an existing deposition system for metallic thin films. Furthermore, the deposition system was extended by a load-lock with integrated bake-out function, a chamber for the deposition of metallic contacts via stencil mask technique and a sputtering chamber. For the sublimation of the organic compounds several effusion cells were designed. The evaporation characteristic and the temperature profile within the cells was studied. Additionally, a simulation program was developed, which calculates the evaporation characteristics of different cell types. The following processes were integrated: evaporation of particles, migration on the cell walls and collisions in the gas phase. It is also possible to consider a temperature gradient within the cell. All processes can be studied separately and their relative strength can be varied. To verify the simulation results several evaporation experiments with different cell types were employed. The thickness profile of the prepared thin films was measured position-dependently. The results are in good agreement with the simulation. Furthermore, the simulation program was extended to the field of electron beam induced deposition (EBID). The second part of this work deals with the preparation and characterization of organic thin films. The focus hereby lies on the charge transfer salt (BEDT-TTF)(TCNQ), which has three known structure variants. Thin films were prepared by different methods of co-evaporation and were studied with optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).The formation of the monoclinic phase of (BEDT-TTF)(TCNQ) could be shown. As a last part tunnel structures were prepared as first thin film devices and measured in a He{sub 4} cryostat. (orig.)

Photon confinement in high-efficiency, thin-film III-V solar cells obtained by epitaxial lift-off

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schermer, J.J.; Bauhuis, G.J.; Mulder, P.; Haverkamp, E.J.; Deelen, J. van; Niftrik, A.T.J. van; Larsen, P.K.

2006-01-01

Using the epitaxial lift-off (ELO) technique, a III-V device structure can be separated from its GaAs substrate by selective wet etching of a thin release layer. The thin-film structures obtained by the ELO process can be cemented or van der Waals bonded on arbitrary smooth surface carriers for further processing. It is shown that the ELO method, initially able to separate millimetre-sized GaAs layers with a lateral etch rate of about 1 mm/h, has been developed to a process capable to free the entire 2-in. epitaxial structures from their substrates with etch rates up to 30 mm/h. With these characteristics the method has a large potential for the production of high efficiency thin-film solar cells. By choosing the right deposition and ELO strategy, the thin-film III-V cells can be adequately processed on both sides allowing for an entire range of new cell structures. In the present work, the performance of semi-transparent bifacial solar cells, produced by the deposition of metal grid contacts on both sides, was evaluated. Reflection of light at the rear side of the bifacial GaAs solar cells was found to result in an enhanced collection probability of the photon-induced carriers compared to that of regular III-V cells on a GaAs substrate. To enhance this effect, thin-film GaAs cells with gold mirror back contacts were prepared. Even in their present premature stage of development, these single-junction thin-film cells reached a record efficiency of 24.5% which is already very close to the 24.9% efficiency that was obtained with a regular GaAs cell on a GaAs substrate. From this it could be concluded that, as a result of the photon confinement, ELO cells require a significantly thinner base layer than regular GaAs cells while at the same time they have the potential to reach a higher efficiency

Large-area SnO2: F thin films by offline APCVD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yan; Wu, Yucheng; Qin, Yongqiang; Zhang, Zhihai; Shi, Chengwu; Zhang, Qingfeng; Li, Changhao; Xia, Xiaohong; Sun, Stanley; Chen, Leon

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Large-area (1245 mm x 635 mm) FTO thin films were successfully deposited by offline APCVD process. → The as-prepared FTO thin films with sheet resistance 8-11 Ω/□ and direct transmittance more than 83% exhibited better than that of the online ones. → The maximum quantum efficiency of the solar cells based on offline FTO substrate was 0.750 at wavelength 540 nm. → The power of the solar modules using the offline FTO as glass substrates was 51.639 W, higher than that of the modules based on the online ones. -- Abstract: In this paper, we reported the successful preparation of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) thin films on large-area glass substrates (1245 mm x 635 mm x 3 mm) by self-designed offline atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) process. The FTO thin films were achieved through a combinatorial chemistry approach using tin tetrachloride, water and oxygen as precursors and Freon (F-152, C2H4F2) as dopant. The deposited films were characterized for crystallinity, morphology (roughness) and sheet resistance to aid optimization of materials suitable for solar cells. We got the FTO thin films with sheet resistance 8-11 Ω/□ and direct transmittance more than 83%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization suggested that the as-prepared FTO films were composed of multicrystal, with the average crystal size 200-300 nm and good crystallinity. Further more, the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images showed that the films were produced with good surface morphology (haze). Selected samples were used for manufacturing tandem amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin film solar cells and modules by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Compared with commercially available FTO thin films coated by online chemical vapor deposition, our FTO coatings show excellent performance resulting in a high quantum efficiency yield for a-Si:H solar cells and ideal open voltage and short circuit current for a-Si:H solar

Rapid Optimization of External Quantum Efficiency of Thin Film Solar Cells Using Surrogate Modeling of Absorptivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaya, Mine; Hajimirza, Shima

2018-05-25

This paper uses surrogate modeling for very fast design of thin film solar cells with improved solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency. We demonstrate that the wavelength-specific optical absorptivity of a thin film multi-layered amorphous-silicon-based solar cell can be modeled accurately with Neural Networks and can be efficiently approximated as a function of cell geometry and wavelength. Consequently, the external quantum efficiency can be computed by averaging surrogate absorption and carrier recombination contributions over the entire irradiance spectrum in an efficient way. Using this framework, we optimize a multi-layer structure consisting of ITO front coating, metallic back-reflector and oxide layers for achieving maximum efficiency. Our required computation time for an entire model fitting and optimization is 5 to 20 times less than the best previous optimization results based on direct Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations, therefore proving the value of surrogate modeling. The resulting optimization solution suggests at least 50% improvement in the external quantum efficiency compared to bare silicon, and 25% improvement compared to a random design.

Transparent conducting oxide layers for thin film silicon solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rath, J.K.; Liu, Y.; de Jong, M.M.; de Wild, J.; Schuttauf, J.A.; Brinza, M.; Schropp, R.E.I.

2009-01-01

Texture etching of ZnO:1%Al layers using diluted HCl solution provides excellent TCOs with crater type surface features for the front contact of superstrate type of thin film silicon solar cells. The texture etched ZnO:Al definitely gives superior performance than Asahi SnO2:F TCO in case of

Thermally evaporated thin films of SnS for application in solar cell devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miles, Robert W.; Ogah, Ogah E.; Zoppi, Guillaume; Forbes, Ian

2009-01-01

SnS (tin sulphide) is of interest for use as an absorber layer and the wider energy bandgap phases e.g. SnS 2 , Sn 2 S 3 and Sn/S/O alloys of interest as Cd-free buffer layers for use in thin film solar cells. In this work thin films of tin sulphide have been thermally evaporated onto glass and SnO 2 :coated glass substrates with the aim of optimising the properties of the material for use in photovoltaic solar cell device structures. In particular the effects of source temperature, substrate temperature, deposition rate and film thickness on the chemical and physical properties of the layers were investigated. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis was used to determine the film composition, X-ray diffraction to determine the phases present and structure of each phase, transmittance and reflectance versus wavelength measurements to determine the energy bandgap and scanning electron microscopy to observe the surface topology and topography and the properties correlated to the deposition parameters. Using the optimised conditions it is possible to produce thin films of tin sulphide that are pinhole free, conformal to the substrate and that consist of densely packed columnar grains. The composition, phases present and the optical properties of the layers deposited were found to be highly sensitive to the deposition conditions. Energy bandgaps in the range 1.55 eV-1.7 eV were obtained for a film thickness of 0.8 μm, and increasing the film thickness to > 1 μm resulted in a reduction of the energy bandgap to less than 1.55 eV. The applicability of using these films in photovoltaic solar cell device structures is also discussed.

Plasmonic versus dielectric enhancement in thin-film solar cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dühring, Maria Bayard; Mortensen, N. Asger; Sigmund, Ole

2012-01-01

to its metallic counterpart. We show that the enhanced normalized short-circuit current for a cell with silicon strips can be increased 4 times compared to the best performance for strips of silver, gold, or aluminium. For this particular case, the simple dielectric grating may outperform its plasmonic......Several studies have indicated that broadband absorption of thin-film solar cells can be enhanced by use of surface-plasmon induced resonances of metallic parts like strips or particles. The metallic parts may create localized modes or scatter incoming light to increase absorption in thin......-film semiconducting material. For a particular case, we show that coupling to the same type of localized slab-waveguide modes can be obtained by a surface modulation consisting of purely dielectric strips. The purely dielectric device turns out to have a significantly higher broadband enhancement factor compared...

Experimental studies of thin films deposition by magnetron sputtering method for CIGS solar cell fabrication

Science.gov (United States)

Gułkowski, Sławomir; Krawczak, Ewelina

2017-10-01

Among a variety of the thin film solar cell technologies of second generation, copper-indium-gallium-diselenide device (CIGS) with the latest highest lab cell efficiency record of 22.4 % seems to be the most promising for the power generation. This is partly due to the advantages of using low cost films of few microns thick not only as a metallic contacts but also as a main structure of the solar cell consisted of high quality semiconductor layers. This paper reports the experimental studies of the CIGS absorber formation on Soda Lime Glass substrate covered by thin molybdenum film as a back contact layer. All structures were deposited with the use of magnetron sputtering method only. Technological parameters of the deposition process such as deposition power, pressure and deposition time were optimized for each layer of the structure. Mo back contact was examined in terms of resistivity. EDS measurements were carried out to verify stoichiometric composition of CIGS absorber. Thin film of Al was used as a top contact in order to examine the quality of p-n junction. The I-V electrical characteristic of the p-n junction was analysed in terms of solar cell application.

Ambipolar organic thin-film transistor-based nano-floating-gate nonvolatile memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Jinhua; Wang, Wei; Ying, Jun; Xie, Wenfa

2014-01-01

An ambipolar organic thin-film transistor-based nano-floating-gate nonvolatile memory was demonstrated, with discrete distributed gold nanoparticles, tetratetracontane (TTC), pentacene as the floating-gate layer, tunneling layer, and active layer, respectively. The electron traps at the TTC/pentacene interface were significantly suppressed, which resulted in an ambipolar operation in present memory. As both electrons and holes were supplied in the channel and trapped in the floating-gate by programming/erasing operations, respectively, i.e., one type of charge carriers was used to overwrite the other, trapped, one, a large memory window, extending on both sides of the initial threshold voltage, was realized

Ambipolar organic thin-film transistor-based nano-floating-gate nonvolatile memory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Jinhua; Wang, Wei, E-mail: wwei99@jlu.edu.cn; Ying, Jun; Xie, Wenfa [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012 (China)

2014-01-06

An ambipolar organic thin-film transistor-based nano-floating-gate nonvolatile memory was demonstrated, with discrete distributed gold nanoparticles, tetratetracontane (TTC), pentacene as the floating-gate layer, tunneling layer, and active layer, respectively. The electron traps at the TTC/pentacene interface were significantly suppressed, which resulted in an ambipolar operation in present memory. As both electrons and holes were supplied in the channel and trapped in the floating-gate by programming/erasing operations, respectively, i.e., one type of charge carriers was used to overwrite the other, trapped, one, a large memory window, extending on both sides of the initial threshold voltage, was realized.

Ternary Precursors for Depositing I-III-VI2 Thin Films for Solar Cells via Spray CVD

Science.gov (United States)

Banger, K. K.; Hollingsworth, J. A.; Jin, M. H.-C.; Harris, J. D.; Duraj, S. A.; Smith, M.; Scheiman, D.; Bohannan, E. W.; Switzer, J. A.; Buhro, W. E.

2002-01-01

The development of thin-film solar cells on flexible, lightweight, space-qualified substrates provides an attractive cost solution to fabricating solar arrays with high specific power (W/kg). Thin-film fabrication studies demonstrate that ternary single source precursors (SSP's) can be used in either a hot or cold-wall spray chemical vapour deposition (CVD) reactor, for depositing CuInS2, CuGaS2, and CuGaInS2 at reduced temperatures (400 to 450 C), which display good electrical and optical properties suitable for photovoltaic (PV) devices. X-ray diffraction studies, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the formation of the single phase CIS, CGS, CIGS thin-films on various substrates at reduced temperatures.

Quality improvement of organic thin films deposited on vibrating substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paredes, Y.A.; Caldas, P.G.; Prioli, R.; Cremona, M., E-mail: cremona@fis.puc-rio.br

2011-12-30

Most of the Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) have a multilayered structure composed of functional organic layers sandwiched between two electrodes. Thin films of small molecules are generally deposited by thermal evaporation onto glass or other rigid or flexible substrates. The interface state between two organic layers in OLED device depends on the surface morphology of the layers and affects deeply the OLED performance. The morphology of organic thin films depends mostly on substrate temperature and deposition rate. Generally, the control of the substrate temperature allows improving the quality of the deposited films. For organic compounds substrate temperature cannot be increased too much due to their poor thermal stability. However, studies in inorganic thin films indicate that it is possible to modify the morphology of a film by using substrate vibration without increasing the substrate temperature. In this work, the effect of the resonance vibration of glass and silicon substrates during thermal deposition in high vacuum environment of tris(8-quinolinolate)aluminum(III) (Alq{sub 3}) and N,N Prime -Bis(naphthalene-2-yl)-N,N Prime -bis(phenyl)-benzidine ({beta}-NPB) organic thin films with different deposition rates was investigated. The vibration used was in the range of hundreds of Hz and the substrates were kept at room temperature during the process. The nucleation and subsequent growth of the organic films on the substrates have been studied by atomic force microscopy technique. For Alq{sub 3} and {beta}-NPB films grown with 0.1 nm/s as deposition rate and using a frequency of 100 Hz with oscillation amplitude of some micrometers, the results indicate a reduction of cluster density and a roughness decreasing. Moreover, OLEDs fabricated with organic films deposited under these conditions improved their power efficiency, driven at 4 mA/cm{sup 2}, passing from 0.11 lm/W to 0.24 lm/W with an increase in their luminance of about 352 cd/m{sup 2

Development of a thin film solar cell interconnect for the PowerSphere concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simburger, Edward J.; Matsumoto, James H.; Giants, Thomas W.; Garcia, Alexander; Liu, Simon; Rawal, Suraj P.; Perry, Alan R.; Marshall, Craig H.; Lin, John K.; Scarborough, Stephen E.; Curtis, Henry B.; Kerslake, Thomas W.; Peterson, Todd T.

2005-01-01

Progressive development of microsatellite technologies has resulted in increased demand for lightweight electrical power subsystems including solar arrays. The use of thin film photovoltaics has been recognized as a key solution to meet the power needs. The lightweight cells can generate sufficient power and still meet critical mass requirements. Commercially available solar cells produced on lightweight substrates are being studied as an option to fulfill the power needs. The commercially available solar cells are relatively inexpensive and have a high payoff potential. Commercially available thin film solar cells are primarily being produced for terrestrial applications. The need to convert the solar cell from a terrestrial to a space compatible application is the primary challenge. Solar cell contacts, grids and interconnects need to be designed to be atomic oxygen resistant and withstand rapid thermal cycling environments. A mechanically robust solar cell interconnect is also required in order to withstand handling during fabrication and survive during launch. The need to produce the solar cell interconnects has been identified as a primary goal of the PowerSphere program and is the topic of this paper. Details of the trade study leading to the final design involving the solar cell wrap around contact, flex blanket, welding process, and frame will be presented at the conference

SnO2 thin film synthesis for organic vapors sensing at ambient temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N.H. Touidjen

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The present work is a study of tin dioxide (SnO2 based thin sensitive layer dedicated to organic vapors detection at ambient temperature. SnO2 thin film was deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis technique. The glass substrate temperature was kept to 400 °C, using a starting solution of 0.1 M tin (II dichloride dihydrate (SnCl2, 2H2O. Films structural and morphological properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM and atomic force microscope (AFM respectively. Films optical characteristics were studied using UV-VIS spectrophotometer. XRD revealed the presence of pure SnO2 polycrystalline thin film with a tetragonal rutile structure. The SEM and AFM observations confirmed the granular morphology with presence of pores in the film surface. The prepared film was tested in various organic vapors (ethanol, methanol and acetone at ambient operating temperature (25 °C ± 2 °C. The obtained results suggested that SnO2 is more sensitive to ethanol vapor with a maximum sensitivity of 35% higher than to methanol and acetone vapors (1% and 3%. The realized SnO2 based sensor demonstrated fast response and recovery times as revealed by the values of 2 s to 3 s towards 47 ppm of ethanol vapor. Keywords: SnO2 thin film, Sensitivity, XRD, SEM, AFM, UV–visible

Remote plasma deposition of textured zinc oxide with focus on thin film solar cell applications : material properties, plasma processes and film growth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groenen, R.

2005-01-01

Simultaneously possessing transparency in the visible region, close to that of insulators, and electrical conductivity, close to that of metals, transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films form a highly attractive class of materials for a wide variety of applications like thin film solar cells,

Modulated surface textures for enhanced scattering in thin-film silicon solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Isabella, O.; Battaglia, C.; Ballif, C.; Zeman, M.

2012-01-01

Nano-scale randomly textured front transparent oxides are superposed on micro-scale etched glass substrates to form modulated surface textures. The resulting enhanced light scattering is implemented in single and double junction thin-film silicon solar cells.

Energy Migration in Organic Thin Films--From Excitons to Polarons

Science.gov (United States)

Mullenbach, Tyler K.

The rise of organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) and organic light-emitting devices has generated interest in the physics governing exciton and polaron dynamics in thin films. Energy transfer has been well studied in dilute solutions, but there are emergent properties in thin films and greater complications due to complex morphologies which must be better understood. Despite the intense interest in energy transport in thin films, experimental limitations have slowed discoveries. Here, a new perspective of OPV operation is presented where photovoltage, instead of photocurrent, plays the fundamental role. By exploiting this new vantage point the first method of measuring the diffusion length (LD) of dark (non-luminescent) excitons is developed, a novel photodetector is invented, and the ability to watch exciton arrival, in real-time, at the donor-acceptor heterojunction is presented. Using an enhanced understanding of exciton migration in thin films, paradigms for enhancing LD by molecular modifications are discovered, and the first exciton gate is experimentally and theoretically demonstrated. Generation of polarons from exciton dissociation represents a second phase of energy migration in OPVs that remains understudied. Current approaches are capable of measuring the rate of charge carrier recombination only at open-circuit. To enable a better understanding of polaron dynamics in thin films, two new approaches are presented which are capable of measuring both the charge carrier recombination and transit rates at any OPV operating voltage. These techniques pave the way for a more complete understanding of charge carrier kinetics in molecular thin films.

Microfluidics and thin-film processes: a recipe for organic integrated photonics based on 3D microresonators

Science.gov (United States)

Huby, N.; Pluchon, D.; Belloul, M.; Moreac, A.; Coulon, N.; Gaviot, E.; Panizza, P.; B"che, B.

2010-02-01

We report on the design and realization of photonic integrated devices based on 3D organic microresonators. This has been achieved by combining microfluidics techniques and thin-film processes. The microfluidic device and the control of the flow rates of the continuous and dispersed phases allow the fabrication of organic microresonators with diameter ranging from 30 to 200 μm. The resonance of the sphere in air has been first investigated by using the Raman spectroscopy set-up demonstrating the appropriate photonic properties. Then the microresonators have been integrated on an organic chip made of the photosensitive resin SU-8 and positioned at the extremity of a taper and alongside a rib waveguide. The realization of these structures by thin-film processes needs one step UV-lithography leading to 6μm width and 30μm height. Both devices have proved the efficient evanescent coupling leading to the excitation of the whispering gallery modes confined at the surface of the organic 3D microresonators. Finally, a band-stop filter has been used to detect the resonance spectra of the resonators once integrated.

Stable organic thin-film transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Xiaojia; Fuentes-Hernandez, Canek; Wang, Cheng-Yin; Park, Youngrak; Kippelen, Bernard

2018-01-01

Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) can be fabricated at moderate temperatures and through cost-effective solution-based processes on a wide range of low-cost flexible and deformable substrates. Although the charge mobility of state-of-the-art OTFTs is superior to that of amorphous silicon and approaches that of amorphous oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs), their operational stability generally remains inferior and a point of concern for their commercial deployment. We report on an exhaustive characterization of OTFTs with an ultrathin bilayer gate dielectric comprising the amorphous fluoropolymer CYTOP and an Al2O3:HfO2 nanolaminate. Threshold voltage shifts measured at room temperature over time periods up to 5.9 × 105 s do not vary monotonically and remain below 0.2 V in microcrystalline OTFTs (μc-OTFTs) with field-effect carrier mobility values up to 1.6 cm2 V−1 s−1. Modeling of these shifts as a function of time with a double stretched-exponential (DSE) function suggests that two compensating aging mechanisms are at play and responsible for this high stability. The measured threshold voltage shifts at temperatures up to 75°C represent at least a one-order-of-magnitude improvement in the operational stability over previous reports, bringing OTFT technologies to a performance level comparable to that reported in the scientific literature for other commercial TFTs technologies. PMID:29340301

MOCVD ZnO/Screen Printed Ag Back Reflector for Flexible Thin Film Silicon Solar Cell Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amornrat Limmanee

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We have prepared Ag back electrode by screen printing technique and developed MOCVD ZnO/screen printed Ag back reflector for flexible thin film silicon solar cell application. A discontinuity and poor contact interface between the MOCVD ZnO and screen printed Ag layers caused poor open circuit voltage (Voc and low fill factor (FF; however, an insertion of a thin sputtered ZnO layer at the interface could solve this problem. The n type hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H film is preferable for the deposition on the surface of MOCVD ZnO film rather than the microcrystalline film due to its less sensitivity to textured surface, and this allowed an improvement in the FF. The n-i-p flexible amorphous silicon solar cell using the MOCVD ZnO/screen printed Ag back reflector showed an initial efficiency of 6.2% with Voc=0.86 V, Jsc=12.4 mA/cm2, and FF = 0.58 (1 cm2. The identical quantum efficiency and comparable performance to the cells using conventional sputtered Ag back electrode have verified the potential of the MOCVD ZnO/screen printed Ag back reflector and possible opportunity to use the screen printed Ag thick film for flexible thin film silicon solar cells.

Optical and Morphological Studies of Thermally Evaporated PTCDI-C8 Thin Films for Organic Solar Cell Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronak Rahimi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available PTCDI-C8 due to its relatively high photosensitivity and high electron mobility has attracted much attention in organic semiconductor devices. In this work, thin films of PTCDI-C8 with different thicknesses were deposited on silicon substrates with native silicon dioxide using a vacuum thermal evaporator. Several material characterization techniques have been utilized to evaluate the structure, morphology, and optical properties of these films. Their optical constants (refractive index and extinction coefficient have been extracted from the spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE. X-ray reflectivity (XRR and atomic force microscopy (AFM were employed to determine the morphology and structure as well as the thickness and roughness of the PTCDI-C8 thin films. These films revealed a high degree of structural ordering within the layers. All the experimental measurements were performed under ambient conditions. PTCDI-C8 films have shown to endure ambient condition which allows pots-deposition characterization.

Comparative study about Al-doped zinc oxide thin films deposited by Pulsed Electron Deposition and Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering as Transparent Conductive Oxide for Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2}-based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pattini, F., E-mail: pattini@imem.cnr.it [IMEM-CNR, Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, 43124 Parma (Italy); Annoni, F.; Bissoli, F.; Bronzoni, M. [IMEM-CNR, Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, 43124 Parma (Italy); Garcia, J.P. [Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft Product and Process Design Institute, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC Delft (Netherlands); Gilioli, E.; Rampino, S. [IMEM-CNR, Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, Parco Area delle Scienze 37/A, 43124 Parma (Italy)

2015-05-01

In this study, a comparison between Al-doped ZnO (AZO) as Transparent Conductive Oxide for Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2}-based solar cells grown by Pulsed Electron Deposition (PED) and Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering (RFMS) was performed. PED yielded polycrystalline [002] mono-oriented thin films with low electrical resistivity and high optical transparency with heater temperatures ranging from room temperature (RT) to 250 °C. The electrical resistivity of these films can be tuned by varying the heater temperature, reaching a minimum value of 3.5 × 10{sup −4} Ωcm at 150 °C and an average transmittance over 90% in the visible range. An AZO film grown at RT was deposited by PED on an actual Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2}-based solar cell, resulting to an efficiency value of 15.2% on the best device. This result clearly shows that PED is a suitable technique for growing ZnO-based thin films for devices/applications where low deposition temperature is required. On the other hand, an optimized AZO thin film front contact for thin film solar cells was studied and fabricated via RFMS. The parameters of this technique were tweaked to obtain highly conductive and transparent AZO thin films. The lowest resistivity value of 3.7 × 10{sup −4} Ωcm and an average transmittance of 86% in the 400-1100 nm wavelength range was obtained with a heater temperature of 250 °C. A thick sputtered AZO film was deposited at RT onto an identical cell used for PED-grown AZO, reaching the highest conversion efficiency value of 14.7%. In both cases, neither antireflection coatings nor pure ZnO layer was used. - Highlights: • Pulsed Electron Deposition (PED) lets high quality films grow at low temperature. • Al:ZnO (AZO) thin films grown by PED present high optical and electrical quality. • AZO electrical resistivity can be tuned from 10{sup −4} to 10{sup −2} Ωcm in proper condition. • Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2}-based simplified solar cells achieved efficiency of 15.2% for PED-grown AZO.

Generation of electrical defects in ion beam assisted deposition of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zachmann, H.; Puttnins, S.; Daume, F.; Rahm, A.; Otte, K.

2011-01-01

Thin films of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) absorber layers for thin film solar cells have been manufactured on polyimide foil in a low temperature, ion beam assisted co-evaporation process. In the present work a set of CIGS thin films was produced with varying selenium ion energy. Solar cell devices have been manufactured from the films and characterized via admittance spectroscopy and capacitance-voltage profiling to determine the influence of the selenium ion energy on the electric parameters of the solar cells. It is shown that the impact of energetic selenium ions in the CIGS deposition process leads to a change in the activation energy and defect density and also in the spatial distribution of electrically active defects. For the interpretation of the results two defect models are taken into account.

Effect of Annealing on the Properties of Antimony Telluride Thin Films and Their Applications in CdTe Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhouling Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Antimony telluride alloy thin films were deposited at room temperature by using the vacuum coevaporation method. The films were annealed at different temperatures in N2 ambient, and then the compositional, structural, and electrical properties of antimony telluride thin films were characterized by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and Hall measurements. The results indicate that single phase antimony telluride existed when the annealing temperature was higher than 488 K. All thin films exhibited p-type conductivity with high carrier concentrations. Cell performance was greatly improved when the antimony telluride thin films were used as the back contact layer for CdTe thin film solar cells. The dark current voltage and capacitance voltage measurements were performed to investigate the formation of the back contacts for the cells with or without Sb2Te3 buffer layers. CdTe solar cells with the buffer layers can reduce the series resistance and eliminate the reverse junction between CdTe and metal electrodes.

Carrier collection losses in interface passivated amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neumüller, A.; Sergeev, O.; Vehse, M.; Agert, C.; Bereznev, S.; Volobujeva, O.; Ewert, M.; Falta, J.

2016-01-01

In silicon thin-film solar cells the interface between the i- and p-layer is the most critical. In the case of back diffusion of photogenerated minority carriers to the i/p-interface, recombination occurs mainly on the defect states at the interface. To suppress this effect and to reduce recombination losses, hydrogen plasma treatment (HPT) is usually applied. As an alternative to using state of the art HPT we apply an argon plasma treatment (APT) before the p-layer deposition in n-i-p solar cells. To study the effect of APT, several investigations were applied to compare the results with HPT and no plasma treatment at the interface. Carrier collection losses in resulting solar cells were examined with spectral response measurements with and without bias voltage. To investigate single layers, surface photovoltage and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were conducted. The results with APT at the i/p-interface show a beneficial contribution to the carrier collection compared with HPT and no plasma treatment. Therefore, it can be concluded that APT reduces the recombination centers at the interface. Further, we demonstrate that carrier collection losses of thin-film solar cells are significantly lower with APT.

Carrier collection losses in interface passivated amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neumüller, A., E-mail: alex.neumueller@next-energy.de; Sergeev, O.; Vehse, M.; Agert, C. [NEXT ENERGY EWE Research Centre for Energy Technology at the University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße 15, 26129 Oldenburg (Germany); Bereznev, S.; Volobujeva, O. [Department of Materials Science, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate Tee 5, Tallinn 19086 (Estonia); Ewert, M.; Falta, J. [Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Bremen, Otto-Hahn-Allee 1, 28359 Bremen (Germany); MAPEX Center for Materials and Processes, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany)

2016-07-25

In silicon thin-film solar cells the interface between the i- and p-layer is the most critical. In the case of back diffusion of photogenerated minority carriers to the i/p-interface, recombination occurs mainly on the defect states at the interface. To suppress this effect and to reduce recombination losses, hydrogen plasma treatment (HPT) is usually applied. As an alternative to using state of the art HPT we apply an argon plasma treatment (APT) before the p-layer deposition in n-i-p solar cells. To study the effect of APT, several investigations were applied to compare the results with HPT and no plasma treatment at the interface. Carrier collection losses in resulting solar cells were examined with spectral response measurements with and without bias voltage. To investigate single layers, surface photovoltage and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were conducted. The results with APT at the i/p-interface show a beneficial contribution to the carrier collection compared with HPT and no plasma treatment. Therefore, it can be concluded that APT reduces the recombination centers at the interface. Further, we demonstrate that carrier collection losses of thin-film solar cells are significantly lower with APT.

Review of thin film solar cell technology and applications for ultra-light spacecraft solar arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Landis, Geoffrey A.

1991-01-01

Developments in thin-film amorphous and polycrystalline photovoltaic cells are reviewed and discussed with a view to potential applications in space. Two important figures of merit are discussed: efficiency (i.e., what fraction of the incident solar energy is converted to electricity), and specific power (power to weight ratio).

Influence of sputtering power on the optical properties of ITO thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

K, Aijo John; M, Deepak, E-mail: manju.thankamoni@gmail.com; T, Manju, E-mail: manju.thankamoni@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Sree Sankara College, Kalady P. O., Ernakulam Dist., Kerala (India); Kumar, Vineetha V. [Dept. of Physics, K. E. College, Mannanam, Kottayam Dist., Kerala (India)

2014-10-15

Tin doped indium oxide films are widely used in transparent conducting coatings such as flat panel displays, crystal displays and in optical devices such as solar cells and organic light emitting diodes due to the high electrical resistivity and optical transparency in the visible region of solar spectrum. The deposition parameters have a commendable influence on the optical and electrical properties of the thin films. In this study, ITO thin films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. The properties of the films prepared under varying sputtering power were compared using UV- visible spectrophotometry. Effect of sputtering power on the energy band gap, absorption coefficient and refractive index are investigated.

CIGS thin film solar cell prepared by reactive co-sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeha; Lee, Ho-Sub; Park, Nae-Man

2013-09-01

The reactive co-sputtering was developed as a new way of preparing high quality CuInGaSe2(CIGS) films from two sets of targets; Cu0.6Ga 0.4 and Cu0.4In0.6 alloy and Cu and (In0.7Ga0.3)2Se3 compound targets. During sputtering, Cu, In, Ga metallic elements as well as the compound materials were reacted to form CIGS simultaneously in highly reactive elemental Se atmosphere generated by a thermal cracker. CIGS layer had been grown on Mo/soda-lime glass(SLG) at 500°C. For both sets of targets, we controlled the composition of CIGS thin film by changing the RF power for target components. All the films showed a preferential (112) orientation as observed from X-ray diffraction analysis. The composition ratios of CIGS were easily set to 0.71-0.95, 0.10-0.30 for [Cu]/[III] and [Ga]/[III], respectively. The grain size and the surface roughness of a CIGS film increased as the [Cu]/[III] ratios increased. The solar cells were fabricated using a standard base line process in the device structure of grid/ITO/i-ZnO/CdS/CIGS/Mo/ SLG. The best performance was obtained the performance of Voc = 0.45 V, Jsc =35.6, FF = 0.535, η = 8.6% with a 0.9 μm-CIGS solar cell from alloy targets while Voc = 0.54 V, Jsc =30.8, FF = 0.509, η = 8.5% with a 0.8 μm-CIGS solar cell from Cu and (In0.7Ga0.3)2Se3.

XRD total scattering of the CZTS nanoparticle absorber layer for the thin film solar cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Symonowicz, Joanna; Jensen, Kirsten M. Ø.; Engberg, Sara Lena Josefin

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin film solar cells are cheap, non-toxic and present an efficiency up to 9,2% [1]. They can be easily manufactured by the deposition of the nanoparticle ink as a thin film followed by a thermal treatment to obtain large grains [2]. Therefore, CZTS has the potential...... to revolutionize the solar energy market. However, to commercialize CZTS nanoparticle thin films, the efficiency issues must yet be resolved. In order to do so, it is vital to understand in detail their nanoscale atomic structure. CZTS crystallize in the kesterite structure, where Cu and Zn is distributed between......-ray Diffraction data with X-ray total scattering with Pair Distribution Function analysis. Powder neutron diffraction will furthermore allow characterization of the cation disorder on the metal sites in the kesterite structure. The nanoparticle ink is also characterized by XRD, EDS, and Raman spectroscopy...

Metal-enhanced fluorescence of mixed coumarin dyes by silver and gold nanoparticles: Towards plasmonic thin-film luminescent solar concentrator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

El-Bashir, S.M., E-mail: elbashireg@yahoo.com [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Science College, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA (Saudi Arabia); Department of Physics Faculty of Science, Benha University (Egypt); Barakat, F.M.; AlSalhi, M.S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Science College, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA (Saudi Arabia)

2013-11-15

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposite films doped with mixed coumarin dyestuffs and noble metal nanoparticles (60 nm silver and 100 nm gold) were prepared by spin coating technique. The effect of silver and gold nanoparticles on the film properties was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements. DSC measurements indicated the increase of the glass transition temperature of the films by increasing nanogold concentration, recommending their promising thermal stability towards hot climates. It was found that the fluorescence signals of the mixed coumarin dyes were amplified by 5.4 and 7.15 folds as a result of metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF). The research outcomes offered a potential application of these films in solar energy conversion by plasmonic thin film luminescent solar concentrator (PTLSC). -- Graphical abstract: Plasmonic thin film luminescent solar concentrators. Highlights: • Metal enhanced fluorescence was achieved for mixed coumarin dyes doped in PMMA nanocomposite films. • The amplification of the fluorescence signals is dependent on the concentration of silver and gold nanoparticles. • These films is considered as potential candidates for plasmonic thin film luminescent solar concentrators (PTLSCs)

Low-Dimensional Nanomaterials as Active Layer Components in Thin-Film Photovoltaics

Science.gov (United States)

Shastry, Tejas Attreya

to result in record breaking performance in a carbon nanotube solar cell, and subsequent chapters study the mechanisms behind charge transfer in the polychiral carbon nanotube / fullerene solar cell. Further processing advances, chiral distribution tailoring, and solvent additives are shown to enable more uniform and larger area carbon nanotube solar cells while maintaining record-breaking performance. In order to increase overall photovoltaic performance of a carbon nanotube active layer solar cell, this dissertation also demonstrates a ternary polymer-carbon nanotube-small molecule photovoltaic with high efficiency and stability enabled by the nanomaterial. Finally, the use of the two-dimensional metal dichalcogenide molybdenum disulfide as a photovoltaic material is explored in an ultrathin solar cell with higher efficiency per thickness than leading organic and inorganic thin-film photovoltaics. Overall, this work demonstrates breakthroughs in utilizing low-dimensional nanomaterials as active layer components in photovoltaics and will inform ongoing research in making ultrathin, stable, efficient solar cells.

Surface Modification of Aerosol-Assisted CVD Produced TiO2 Thin Film for Dye Sensitised Solar Cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SuPei Lim

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We report a simple and convenient method for the preparation of Ag/TiO2 thin films supported on indium tin oxide, which was achieved by sonochemical deposition of Ag+ on aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposited TiO2 thin films. Posttreatment was performed on the film by immersion in HCl. The as-prepared composite film was characterised by X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The photoelectrochemical measurements and J-V characterisation showed approximately fivefold increase in photocurrent density generation and approximately sevenfold enhancement in dye sensitiser solar cell (DSSC conversion efficiency, which was achieved after modification of the TiO2 film with HCl posttreatment and Ag particle deposition. The improved photocurrent density of 933.30 μA/cm2, as well as DSSC power conversion efficiency of 3.63% with high stability, is an indication that the as-synthesised thin film is a potential candidate for solar energy conversion applications.

Experimental studies of thin films deposition by magnetron sputtering method for CIGS solar cell fabrication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gułkowski Sławomir

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Among a variety of the thin film solar cell technologies of second generation, copper-indium-gallium-diselenide device (CIGS with the latest highest lab cell efficiency record of 22.4 % seems to be the most promising for the power generation. This is partly due to the advantages of using low cost films of few microns thick not only as a metallic contacts but also as a main structure of the solar cell consisted of high quality semiconductor layers. This paper reports the experimental studies of the CIGS absorber formation on Soda Lime Glass substrate covered by thin molybdenum film as a back contact layer. All structures were deposited with the use of magnetron sputtering method only. Technological parameters of the deposition process such as deposition power, pressure and deposition time were optimized for each layer of the structure. Mo back contact was examined in terms of resistivity. EDS measurements were carried out to verify stoichiometric composition of CIGS absorber. Thin film of Al was used as a top contact in order to examine the quality of p-n junction. The I-V electrical characteristic of the p-n junction was analysed in terms of solar cell application.

Cu2SixSn1-xS3 Thin Films Prepared by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering For Low-Cost Thin Film Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Chang; Liu, Fang-Yang; Lai, Yan-Qing; Li, Jie; Liu, Ye-Xiang

2011-10-01

We report the preparation of Cu2SixSn1-xS3 thin films for thin film solar cell absorbers using the reactive magnetron co-sputtering technique. Energy dispersive spectrometer and x-ray diffraction analyses indicate that Cu2Si1-xSnxS3 thin films can be synthesized successfully by partly substituting Si atoms for Sn atoms in the Cu2SnS3 lattice, leading to a shrinkage of the lattice, and, accordingly, by 2θ shifting to larger values. The blue shift of the Raman peak further confirms the formation of Cu2SixSn1-xS3. Environmental scanning electron microscope analyses reveal a polycrystalline and homogeneous morphology with a grain size of about 200-300 nm. Optical measurements indicate an optical absorption coefficient of higher than 104 cm-1 and an optical bandgap of 1.17±0.01 eV.

Metal-Organic Framework Thin Film Coated Optical Fiber Sensors: A Novel Waveguide-Based Chemical Sensing Platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ki-Joong; Lu, Ping; Culp, Jeffrey T; Ohodnicki, Paul R

2018-02-23

Integration of optical fiber with sensitive thin films offers great potential for the realization of novel chemical sensing platforms. In this study, we present a simple design strategy and high performance of nanoporous metal-organic framework (MOF) based optical gas sensors, which enables detection of a wide range of concentrations of small molecules based upon extremely small differences in refractive indices as a function of analyte adsorption within the MOF framework. Thin and compact MOF films can be uniformly formed and tightly bound on the surface of etched optical fiber through a simple solution method which is critical for manufacturability of MOF-based sensor devices. The resulting sensors show high sensitivity/selectivity to CO 2 gas relative to other small gases (H 2 , N 2 , O 2 , and CO) with rapid (optical fiber platform which results in an amplification of inherent optical absorption present within the MOF-based sensing layer with increasing values of effective refractive index associated with adsorption of gases.

Analysis of the High Conversion Efficiencies β-FeSi2 and BaSi2 n-i-p Thin Film Solar Cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, J.Sh.; Lee, K.W.; Tseng, Y.H.

2014-01-01

Both β-FeSi 2 and BaSi 2 are silicides and have large absorption coefficients; thus they are very promising Si-based new materials for solar cell applications. In this paper, the dc I-V characteristics of n-Si/i-βFeSi 2 /p-Si and n-Si/i-BaSi 2 /p-Si thin film solar cells are investigated by solving the charge transport equations with optical generations. The diffusion current densities of free electron and hole are calculated first. Then the drift current density in the depletion regions is obtained. The total current density is the sum of diffusion and drift current densities. The conversion efficiencies are obtained from the calculated I-V curves. The optimum conversion efficiency of n-Si/i-βFeSi 2 /p-Si thin film solar cell is 27.8% and that of n-Si/i-BaSi 2 /p-Si thin film solar cell is 30.4%, both are larger than that of Si n-i-p solar cell (η is 20.6%). These results are consistent with their absorption spectrum. The calculated conversion efficiency of Si n-i-p solar cell is consistent with the reported researches. Therefore, these calculation results are valid in this work.

Analysis of the High Conversion Efficiencies β-FeSi2 and BaSi2 n-i-p Thin Film Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jung-Sheng Huang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Both β-FeSi2 and BaSi2 are silicides and have large absorption coefficients; thus they are very promising Si-based new materials for solar cell applications. In this paper, the dc I-V characteristics of n-Si/i-βFeSi2/p-Si and n-Si/i-BaSi2/p-Si thin film solar cells are investigated by solving the charge transport equations with optical generations. The diffusion current densities of free electron and hole are calculated first. Then the drift current density in the depletion regions is obtained. The total current density is the sum of diffusion and drift current densities. The conversion efficiencies are obtained from the calculated I-V curves. The optimum conversion efficiency of n-Si/i-βFeSi2/p-Si thin film solar cell is 27.8% and that of n-Si/i-BaSi2/p-Si thin film solar cell is 30.4%, both are larger than that of Si n-i-p solar cell (η is 20.6%. These results are consistent with their absorption spectrum. The calculated conversion efficiency of Si n-i-p solar cell is consistent with the reported researches. Therefore, these calculation results are valid in this work.

Enhanced efficiency of hybrid amorphous silicon solar cells based on single-walled carbon nanotubes/polymer composite thin film.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajanna, Pramod Mulbagal; Gilshteyn, Evgenia; Yagafarov, Timur; Alekseeva, Alena; Anisimov, Anton; Sergeev, Oleg; Neumueller, Alex; Bereznev, Sergei; Maricheva, Jelena; Nasibulin, Albert

2018-01-09

We report a simple approach to fabricate hybrid solar cells (HSCs) based on a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) film and a thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). Randomly oriented high quality SWCNTs with an enhanced conductivity by means of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate are used as a window layer and a front electrode. A series of HSCs are fabricated in ambient conditions with different SWCNT film thicknesses. The polymethylmethacrylate layer drop-casted on fabricated HSCs reduces the reflection fourfold and enhances the short-circuit Jsc, open-circuit Voc, and efficiency by nearly 10%. A state-of-the-art J-V performance is shown for SWCNT/a-Si HSC with an open-circuit voltage of 900 mV and efficiency of 3.4% under simulated one-sun AM 1.5G direct illumination. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

The effect of aeration and solar intensity power on photocatalytic degradation of textile industrial wastewater using TiO2 thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abu Kassim, N.F.; Ku Hamid, K.H.; Azizan, A.

2006-01-01

Solar photo catalytic degradation of the textile industry wastewater using TiO 2 thin films was studied. This experiment was performed to investigate the effect of aeration and solar intensity power on decreasing of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). A serpentine flow photo catalytic reactor was developed for this purpose. TiO 2 thin films photo catalyst supported on the stainless steel 304 substrates were prepared using sol-gel dip coating method. The results of thin films were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD). XRD result showed that the prepared thin films gave the anatase crystallite formation whilst SEM demonstrated the macro pores were formed. Finally, the aeration and solar intensity power factors are considered to be responsible for the photo catalytic degradation. (Author)

Laser-Printed Organic Thin-Film Transistors

KAUST Repository

Diemer, Peter J.

2017-09-20

Solution deposition of organic optoelectronic materials enables fast roll-to-roll manufacturing of photonic and electronic devices on any type of substrate and at low cost. But controlling the film microstructure when it crystallizes from solution can be challenging. This represents a major limitation of this technology, since the microstructure, in turn, governs the charge transport properties of the material. Further, the solvents typically used are hazardous, which precludes their incorporation in large-scale manufacturing processes. Here, the first ever organic thin-film transistor fabricated with an electrophotographic laser printing process using a standard office laser printer is reported. This completely solvent-free additive manufacturing method allows for simultaneous deposition, purification, and patterning of the organic semiconductor layer. Laser-printed transistors using triisopropylsilylethynyl pentacene as the semiconductor layer are realized on flexible substrates and characterized, making this a successful first demonstration of the potential of laser printing of organic semiconductors.

Three-dimensional photonic crystals as intermediate filter for thin-film tandem solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Bielawny, Andreas; Miclea, Paul T.; Wehrspohn, Ralf B.; Lee, Seung-Mo; Knez, Mato; Rockstuhl, Carsten; Lisca, Marian; Lederer, Falk L.; Carius, Reinhard

2008-04-01

The concept of a 3D photonic crystal structure as diffractive and spectrally selective intermediate filter within 'micromorphous' (a-Si/μc-Si) tandem solar cells has been investigated numerically and experimentally. Our device aims for the enhancement of the optical pathway of incident light within the amorphous silicon top cell in its spectral region of low absorption. From our previous simulations, we expect a significant improvement of the tandem cell efficiency of about absolutely 1.3%. This increases the efficiency for a typical a-Si / μc-Si tandem cell from 11.1% to 12.4%, as a result of the optical current-matching of the two junctions. We suggest as wavelength-selective optical element a 3D-structured optical thin-film, prepared by self-organized artificial opal templates and replicated with atomic layer deposition. The resulting samples are highly periodic thin-film inverted opals made of conducting and transparent zinc-oxide. We describe the fabrication processes and compare experimental data on the optical properties in reflection and transmission with our simulations and photonic band structure calculations.

Laser process for extended silicon thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hessmann, M.T.; Kunz, T.; Burkert, I.; Gawehns, N.; Schaefer, L.; Frick, T.; Schmidt, M.; Meidel, B.; Auer, R.; Brabec, C.J.

2011-01-01

We present a large area thin film base substrate for the epitaxy of crystalline silicon. The concept of epitaxial growth of silicon on large area thin film substrates overcomes the area restrictions of an ingot based monocrystalline silicon process. Further it opens the possibility for a roll to roll process for crystalline silicon production. This concept suggests a technical pathway to overcome the limitations of silicon ingot production in terms of costs, throughput and completely prevents any sawing losses. The core idea behind these thin film substrates is a laser welding process of individual, thin silicon wafers. In this manuscript we investigate the properties of laser welded monocrystalline silicon foils (100) by micro-Raman mapping and spectroscopy. It is shown that the laser beam changes the crystalline structure of float zone grown silicon along the welding seam. This is illustrated by Raman mapping which visualizes compressive stress as well as tensile stress in a range of - 147.5 to 32.5 MPa along the welding area.

A thin-film silicon/silicon hetero-junction hybrid solar cell for photoelectrochemical water-reduction applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vasudevan, R.A.; Thanawala, Z; Han, L.; Buijs, Thom; Tan, H.; Deligiannis, D.; Perez Rodriguez, P.; Digdaya, I.A.; Smith, W.A.; Zeman, M.; Smets, A.H.M.

2016-01-01

A hybrid tandem solar cell consisting of a thin-film, nanocrystalline silicon top junction and a siliconheterojunction bottom junction is proposed as a supporting solar cell for photoelectrochemical applications.Tunneling recombination junction engineering is shown to be an important consideration

High efficiency thin film solar cells grown by molecular beam epitaxy (HEFTY)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mason, N.B.; Barnham, K.W.J.; Ballard, I.M.; Zhang, J. [Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)

2006-05-04

The project sought to show the UK as a world leader in the field of thin film crystalline solar cells. A premise was that the cell design be suitable for large-scale manufacturing and provide a basis for industrial exploitation. The study demonstrated (1) that silicon films grown at temperatures suitable for deposition on glass by Gas Phase Molecular Beam Epitaxy gives better PV cells than does Ultra Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition; (2) a conversion energy of 15 per cent was achieved - the project target was 18 per cent and (3) one of the highest reported conversion efficiencies for a 15 micrometre silicon film was achieved. The study was carried out by BP Solar Limited under contract to the DTI.

Experimental Study on Fabrication of AZO Transparent Electrode for Organic Solar Cell Using Selective Low-Temperature Atomic Layer Deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kicheol; Song, Gensoo; Kim, Hyungtae; Yoo, Kyunghoon; Kang, Jeongjin; Hwang, Junyoung; Lee, Sangho; Kang, Kyungtae; Kang, Heuiseok; Cho, Youngjune

2013-01-01

AZO (aluminum-doped zinc oxide) is one of the best candidate materials to replace Into (indium tin oxide) for TKOs (transparent conductive oxides) used in flat panel displays, organic light-emitting diodes (OLDS), and organic solar cells (OCSS). In the present study, to apply an AZO thin film to the transparent electrode of an organic solar cell, a low temperature selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) process was adopted to deposit an AZO thin film on a flexible polyethylene-naphthanate (Pen) substrate. The reactive gases for the ALD process were di-ethyl-zinc (De) and tri-methylaluminum (Tma) as precursors and H 2 O as an oxidant. The structural, electrical, and optical characteristics of the AZO thin film were evaluated. From the measured results of the electrical and optical characteristics of the AZO thin films deposited on the Pen substrates by Ald, it was shown that the Azo thin film appeared to be comparable to a commercially used Into thin film, which confirmed the feasibility of AZO as a TCO for flexible organic solar cells in the near future

Thin nanostructured crystalline TiO{sub 2} films and their applications in solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng Yajun

2007-06-15

Research on thin nanostructured crystalline TiO{sub 2} films has attracted considerable interests because of their intriguing physical properties and potential applications in photovoltaics. Nanostructured TiO{sub 2} film plays an important role in the TiO{sub 2} based dye-sensitized solar cells because they act as a substrate for the adsorption of dye molecules and a matrix for the transportation of electrons as well. Thus they can influence the solar cell performance significantly. Consequently, the control of the morphology including the shape, size and size distribution of the TiO{sub 2} nanostructures is critical to tune and optimize the performance of the solar cells. To control the TiO{sub 2} morphology, a strategy using amphiphilic block copolymer as templating agent coupled with sol-gel chemistry has been applied. Especially, a good-poor solvent pair induced phase separation process has been developed to guide the microphase separation behavior of the block copolymers. The amphiphilic block copolymers used include polystyrene-block-poly (ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO), poly (methyl methacrylate)-block-poly (ethylene oxide) (PMMA-b-PEO), and poly (ethylene oxide)-block-polystyrene-block-poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO-b-PS-b-PEO). The block copolymer undergoes a good-poor-solvent pair induced phase separation in a mixed solution of 1, 4-dioxane or N, N-dimethyl formamide (DMF), concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl) and Titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP). Specifically, in the system of PS-b-PEO, a morphology phase diagram of the inorganic-copolymer composite films was mapped by adjusting the weight fractions among 1, 4-dioxane, HCl, and TTIP in solution. The amorphous TiO{sub 2} within the titania-block copolymer composite films was crystallized by calcination at temperatures above 400 C, where the organic block copolymer was simultaneously burned away. This strategy is further extended to other amphiphilic block copolymers of PMMA-b-PEO and PEO-b-PS-b-PEO, where the

Effects of neutral particle beam on nano-crystalline silicon thin films, with application to thin film transistor backplane for flexible active matrix organic light emitting diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Jin Nyoung; Song, Byoung Chul; Lee, Dong Hyeok; Yoo, Suk Jae; Lee, Bonju; Hong, MunPyo

2011-01-01

A novel deposition process for nano-crystalline silicon (nc-Si) thin films was developed using neutral beam assisted chemical vapor deposition (NBaCVD) technology for the application of the thin film transistor (TFT) backplane of flexible active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED). During the formation of a nc-Si thin film, the energetic particles enhance nano-sized crystalline rather microcrystalline Si in thin films. Neutral Particle Beam (NPB) affects the crystallinity in two ways: (1) NPB energy enhances nano-crystallinity through kinetic energy transfer and chemical annealing, and (2) heavier NPB (such as Ar) induces damage and amorphization through energetic particle impinging. Nc-Si thin film properties effectively can be changed by the reflector bias. As increase of NPB energy limits growing the crystalline, the performance of TFT supports this NPB behavior. The results of nc-Si TFT by NBaCVD demonstrate the technical potentials of neutral beam based processes for achieving high stability and reduced leakage in TFT backplanes for AMOLEDs.

A comparative study of solution-processed low- and high-band-gap chalcopyrite thin-film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Se Jin; Moon, Sung Hwan; Min, Byoung Koun; Cho, Yunae; Kim, Ji Eun; Kim, Dong-Wook; Lee, Doh-Kwon; Gwak, Jihye; Kim, Jihyun

2014-01-01

Low-cost and printable chalcopyrite thin-film solar cells were fabricated by a precursor solution-based coating method with a multi-step heat-treatment process (oxidation, sulfurization, and selenization). The high-band-gap (1.57 eV) Cu(In x Ga 1−x )S 2 (CIGS) solar cell showed a high open-circuit voltage of 787 mV, whereas the low-band-gap (1.12 eV) Cu(In x Ga 1−x )(S 1−y Se y ) 2 (CIGSSe) cell exhibited a high short-circuit current density of 32.6 mA cm −2 . The energy conversion efficiencies were 8.28% for CIGS and 8.81% for CIGSSe under standard irradiation conditions. Despite similar efficiencies, the two samples showed notable differences in grain size, surface morphology, and interfacial properties. Low-temperature transport and admittance characteristics of the samples clearly revealed how their structural differences influenced their photovoltaic and electrical properties. Such analyses provide insight into the enhanced solar cell performance of the solution-processed chalcopyrite thin films. (paper)

The Impact of Graphene on the Fabrication of Thin Film Solar Cells: Current Status and Future Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengqi Shi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Commercial solar cells have a power conversion efficiency (PCE in the range of 10–22% with different light absorbers. Graphene, with demonstrated unique structural, physical, and electrical properties, is expected to bring the positive effects on the development of thin film solar cells. Investigations have been carried out to understand whether graphene can be used as a front and back contacts and active interfacial layer in solar cell fabrication. In this review, the current progress of this research is analyzed, starting from the graphene and graphene-based Schottky diode. Also, the discussion was focused on the progress of graphene-incorporated thin film solar cells that were fabricated with different light absorbers, in particular, the synthesis, fabrication, and characterization of devices. The effect of doping and layer thickness of graphene on PCE was also included. Currently, the PCE of graphene-incorporated bulk-heterojunction devices have enhanced in the range of 0.5–3%. However, device durability and cost-effectiveness are also the challenging factors for commercial production of graphene-incorporated solar cells. In addition to the application of graphene, graphene oxides have been also used in perovskite solar cells. The current needs and likely future investigations for graphene-incorporated solar cells are also discussed.

Preparation of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Thin Film as Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) from Zinc Complex Compound on Thin Film Solar Cells: A Study of O2 Effect on Annealing Process

Science.gov (United States)

Muslih, E. Y.; Kim, K. H.

2017-07-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film as a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) for thin film solar cell application was successfully prepared through two step preparations which consisted of deposition by spin coating at 2000 rpm for 10 second and followed by annealing at 500 °C for 2 hours under O2 and ambient atmosphere. Zinc acetate dehydrate was used as a precursor which dissolved in ethanol and acetone (1:1 mol) mixture in order to make a zinc complex compound. In this work, we reported the O2 effect, reaction mechanism, structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties. ZnO thin film in this work shows a single phase of wurtzite, with n-type semiconductor and has band gap, carrier concentration, mobility, and resistivity as 3.18 eV, 1.21 × 10-19cm3, 11 cm2/Vs, 2.35 × 10-3 Ωcm respectively which is suitable for TCO at thin film solar cell.

Emission Characteristics of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes and Organic Thin-Films with Planar and Corrugated Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mao-Kuo Wei

2010-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we review the emission characteristics from organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs and organic molecular thin films with planar and corrugated structures. In a planar thin film structure, light emission from OLEDs was strongly influenced by the interference effect. With suitable design of microcavity structure and layer thicknesses adjustment, optical characteristics can be engineered to achieve high optical intensity, suitable emission wavelength, and broad viewing angles. To increase the extraction efficiency from OLEDs and organic thin-films, corrugated structure with micro- and nano-scale were applied. Microstructures can effectively redirects the waveguiding light in the substrate outside the device. For nanostructures, it is also possible to couple out the organic and plasmonic modes, not only the substrate mode.

Efficiency enhancement using a Zn1- x Ge x -O thin film as an n-type window layer in Cu2O-based heterojunction solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Minami, Tadatsugu; Nishi, Yuki; Miyata, Toshihiro

2016-05-01

Efficiency enhancement was achieved in Cu2O-based heterojunction solar cells fabricated with a zinc-germanium-oxide (Zn1- x Ge x -O) thin film as the n-type window layer and a p-type Na-doped Cu2O (Cu2O:Na) sheet prepared by thermally oxidizing Cu sheets. The Ge content (x) dependence of the obtained photovoltaic properties of the heterojunction solar cells is mainly explained by the conduction band discontinuity that results from the electron affinity difference between Zn1- x Ge x -O and Cu2O:Na. The optimal value of x in Zn1- x Ge x -O thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition was observed to be 0.62. An efficiency of 8.1% was obtained in a MgF2/Al-doped ZnO/Zn0.38Ge0.62-O/Cu2O:Na heterojunction solar cell.

Cu-based metal-organic framework thin films: A morphological and photovoltaic study

Science.gov (United States)

Khajavian, Ruhollah; Ghani, Kamal

2018-06-01

This work explores the layer-by-layer (LbL) fabrication of [Cu2(bdc)2(bpy)]n thin films by using pyridine and acetic acid as capping agents onto mesoporous titania surface. While in the presence of acetic acid highly-ordered crystals with nanoplate morphology are formed, modulation with pyridine gives rise to formation of leaf-like crystals. In addition, processing sequence also matters when modulator is added. According to our results, modulators should be added to metal solution rather than linker/pillar during LbL assembly. These films were subsequently shown to generate photocurrent in a sandwich-type Grätzel solar cell device in response to simulated 1 sun illumination. The results also demonstrated that the device consisted of well-aligned nanoplates exhibits higher power conversion efficiency than the similar cell with disordered leaf-like crystals after iodine loading.

a Brief Survey on Basic Properties of Thin Films for Device Application

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, M. C.; Shekhawat, M. S.

Thin film materials are the key elements of continued technological advances made in the fields of optoelectronic, photonic and magnetic devices. Thin film studies have directly or indirectly advanced many new areas of research in solid state physics and chemistry which are based on phenomena uniquely characteristic of the thickness, geometry and structure of the film. The processing of materials into thin films allows easy integration into various types of devices. Thin films are extremely thermally stable and reasonably hard, but they are fragile. On the other hand organic materials have reasonable thermal stability and are tough, but are soft. Thin film mechanical properties can be measured by tensile testing of freestanding films and by the micro beam cantilever deflection technique, but the easiest way is by means of nanoindentation. Optical experiments provide a good way of examining the properties of semiconductors. Particularly measuring the absorption coefficient for various energies gives information about the band gaps of the material. Thin film materials have been used in semiconductor devices, wireless communications, telecommunications, integrated circuits, rectifiers, transistors, solar cells, light-emitting diodes, photoconductors and light crystal displays, lithography, micro- electromechanical systems (MEMS) and multifunctional emerging coatings, as well as other emerging cutting technologies.

Single source precursors for fabrication of I-III-VI{sub 2} thin-film solar cells via spray CVD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hollingsworth, J.A.; Banger, K.K.; Jin, M.H.-C.; Harris, J.D.; Cowen, J.E.; Bohannan, E.W.; Switzer, J.A.; Buhro, W.E.; Hepp, A.F

2003-05-01

The development of thin-film solar cells on flexible, lightweight, space-qualified substrates provides an attractive cost solution to fabricating solar arrays with high specific power (W/kg). Thin-film fabrication studies demonstrate that ternary single source precursors can be used in either a hot, or cold-wall spray chemical vapour deposition reactor, for depositing CuInS{sub 2}, CuGaS{sub 2} and CuGaInS{sub 2} at reduced temperatures (400-450 sign C), which display good electrical and optical properties suitable for photovoltaic devices. X-ray diffraction studies, energy dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy confirmed the formation of the single phase CIS, CGS, CIGS thin-films on various substrates at reduced temperatures.

Calixarene Langmuir-Blodgett Thin Films For Volatile Organic Compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Capan, R.

2010-01-01

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) such as benzene, toluene, chloroform are chemicals that evaporate easily at room temperature and create many health effects on young children, elderly and a person with heightened sensitivity to chemicals. Concentrations of many VOC's are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors because many household products (for example paints, varnishes, many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, hobby products etc.) contains VOC's. Some effects of VOC's for human beings can be followed as the eye, nose, and throat irritations; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. These are big incentives for the development of portable, user-friendly VOC's sensors and for the investigation of the sensing properties of new materials to be prepared as a thin film sensing element. Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) ultra-thin film technique allows us to produce monolayer or multilayer organic thin films that can be used as chemical sensing elements.In this work, materials known as the calix[n]arene are investigated for the production of sensing material against several VOC's such as the chloroform, benzene, ethylbenzene and toluene by using LB thin film techniques. UV-visible, Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) system and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) measurement techniques are used to check the quality of the deposition process onto a solid substrate. Surface morphology and sensing properties of the final sensing layers are then studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and SPR techniques. Our results indicated that selected calixarene materials are sensitive enough and quite suitable to fabricate a highly ordered, reproducible and uniform LB film that can be used as a very thin sensing layer against VOC's.

Preparation of Composited Graphene/PEDOT:PSS Film for Its Possible Application in Graphene-based Organic Solar Cells

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YU; Yue; LI; Meicheng; CHU; Lihua; YU; Hakki; Wodtke; A.M.; ZHAO; Yan; ZHANG; Zhongmo

2015-01-01

The interface between graphene and organic layers is a key factor responsible for the performance of graphene-based organic solar cells(OSCs). In this paper, we focus on coating PEDOT:PSS onto the surface of graphene. We demonstrate two approaches, applying UV/Ozone treatment on graphene and modifying PEDOT:PSS with Zonyl, to get a PEDOT:PSS well-coated graphene film. Our results prove that both methods can be effective to solve the interface issue between graphene and PEDOT: PSS. Thereby it shows a positive application of the composited graphene/PEDOT:PSS film on graphene-based OSCs.

Preparation of Composited Graphene/PEDOT:PSS Film for Its Possible Application in Graphene-based Organic Solar Cells

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YU Yue; LI Meicheng; CHU Lihua; YU Hakki; Wodtke A M; ZHAO Yan; ZHANG Zhongmo

2015-01-01

The interface between graphene and organic layers is a key factor responsible for the performance of gra-phene-based organic solar cells (OSCs). In this paper, we focus on coating PEDOT:PSS onto the surface of graphene. We demonstrate two approaches, applying UV/Ozone treatment on graphene and modifying PEDOT:PSS with Zonyl, to get a PEDOT:PSS well-coated graphene film . Our results prove that both methods can be effective to solve the interface issue between graphene and PEDOT: PSS. Thereby it shows a positive application of the composited gra-phene/PEDOT:PSS film on graphene-based OSCs.

Development of natively textured surface hydrogenated Ga-doped ZnO-TCO thin films for solar cells via magnetron sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Fei; Chen, Xin-liang; Geng, Xin-hua; Zhang, De-kun; Wei, Chang-chun; Huang, Qian; Zhang, Xiao-dan; Zhao, Ying

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Natively textured surface hydrogenated gallium-doped zinc oxide (HGZO) thin films have been deposited via magnetron sputtering on glass substrates. ► The directly deposited HGZO thin films present rough crater-type surface morphology. ► Typical HGZO thin film exhibits a high electron mobility of 41.3 cm 2 /V s and a relative low sheet resistance of ∼7.0 Ω. ► These HGZO thin films have high optical transmittances in the visible and near infrared region (∼380–1100 nm). ► A gradient H 2 growth method for fabricating HGZO thin films has been proposed in magnetron sputtering process. - Abstract: The main purposes are to obtain high quality transparent conductive oxide (TCO) based on zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films with high optical transparency in the visible and near infrared spectral range, high electrical conductivity and good light-scattering capability to enhance the path of the light inside the Si-based thin film solar cells. Natively textured surface hydrogenated gallium-doped ZnO (HGZO) thin films have been deposited via pulsed direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering on glass substrates at a substrate temperature of 553 K. These natively textured HGZO thin films exhibit high optical transmittance (over 80%) in the visible and near infrared region (λ = 380–1100 nm) and excellent electrical properties. The optimized HGZO thin film with crater-type textured surface obtained at the hydrogen flow rate of ∼2.0 sccm exhibits a high electron mobility of 41.3 cm 2 /V s and a relatively low sheet resistance of ∼7.0 Ω. The influences of hydrogen flow rates on the surface morphology, electrical and optical properties of HGZO thin films were investigated in detail. In addition, we put forward a method of gradient H 2 growth technique for fabricating HGZO thin films so as to obtain rough surface structure with good light-scattering capability and high electrical conductivity. “Crater-like” surface feature size and optical transmittance

Growth of large-size-two-dimensional crystalline pentacene grains for high performance organic thin film transistors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuan Du

2012-06-01

Full Text Available New approach is presented for growth of pentacene crystalline thin film with large grain size. Modification of dielectric surfaces using a monolayer of small molecule results in the formation of pentacene thin films with well ordered large crystalline domain structures. This suggests that pentacene molecules may have significantly large diffusion constant on the modified surface. An average hole mobility about 1.52 cm2/Vs of pentacene based organic thin film transistors (OTFTs is achieved with good reproducibility.

High mobility single-crystalline-like GaAs thin films on inexpensive flexible metal substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutta, P.; Rathi, M.; Gao, Y.; Yao, Y.; Selvamanickam, V.; Zheng, N.; Ahrenkiel, P.; Martinez, J.

2014-01-01

We demonstrate heteroepitaxial growth of single-crystalline-like n and p-type doped GaAs thin films on inexpensive, flexible, and light-weight metal foils by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Single-crystalline-like Ge thin film on biaxially textured templates made by ion beam assisted deposition on metal foil served as the epitaxy enabling substrate for GaAs growth. The GaAs films exhibited strong (004) preferred orientation, sharp in-plane texture, low grain misorientation, strong photoluminescence, and a defect density of ∼10 7  cm −2 . Furthermore, the GaAs films exhibited hole and electron mobilities as high as 66 and 300 cm 2 /V-s, respectively. High mobility single-crystalline-like GaAs thin films on inexpensive metal substrates can pave the path for roll-to-roll manufacturing of flexible III-V solar cells for the mainstream photovoltaics market.

High mobility single-crystalline-like GaAs thin films on inexpensive flexible metal substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutta, P., E-mail: pdutta2@central.uh.edu; Rathi, M.; Gao, Y.; Yao, Y.; Selvamanickam, V. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77204 (United States); Zheng, N.; Ahrenkiel, P. [Department of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701 (United States); Martinez, J. [Materials Evaluation Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77085 (United States)

2014-09-01

We demonstrate heteroepitaxial growth of single-crystalline-like n and p-type doped GaAs thin films on inexpensive, flexible, and light-weight metal foils by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Single-crystalline-like Ge thin film on biaxially textured templates made by ion beam assisted deposition on metal foil served as the epitaxy enabling substrate for GaAs growth. The GaAs films exhibited strong (004) preferred orientation, sharp in-plane texture, low grain misorientation, strong photoluminescence, and a defect density of ∼10{sup 7 }cm{sup −2}. Furthermore, the GaAs films exhibited hole and electron mobilities as high as 66 and 300 cm{sup 2}/V-s, respectively. High mobility single-crystalline-like GaAs thin films on inexpensive metal substrates can pave the path for roll-to-roll manufacturing of flexible III-V solar cells for the mainstream photovoltaics market.

Controlled growth of epitaxial CeO2 thin films with self-organized nanostructure by chemical solution method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yue, Zhao; Grivel, Jean-Claude

2013-01-01

Chemical solution deposition is a versatile technique to grow oxide thin films with self-organized nanostructures. Morphology and crystallographic orientation control of CeO2 thin films grown on technical NiW substrates by a chemical solution deposition method are achieved in this work. Based...

Water-soluble polyelectrolyte-grafted multiwalled carbon nanotube thin films for efficient counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jinkyu; Kim, Hyunju; Kim, Dong Young; Jo, Seong Mu; Jang, Sung-Yeon

2010-06-22

Water-soluble, polyelectrolyte-grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), MWCNT-g-PSSNa, were synthesized using a "grafting to" route. MWCNT-g-PSSNa thin films fabricated by an electrostatic spray (e-spray) technique were used as the counter electrode (CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The e-sprayed MWCNT-g-PSSNa thin-film-based CEs (MWCNT-CE) were uniform over a large area, and the well-exfoliated MWCNTs formed highly interconnected network structures. The electrochemical catalytic activity of the MWCNT-CE at different thicknesses was investigated. The MWCNT-g-PSSNa thin film showed high efficiency as a CE in DSSCs. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the DSSCs using the MWCNT-g-PSSNa thin-film-based CE (DSSC-MWCNT) was >6% at a CE film thickness of approximately 0.3 microm. The optimum PCE was >7% at a film thickness of approximately 1 microm, which is 20-50 times thinner than conventional carbon-based CE. The charge transfer resistance at the MWCNT-CE/electrolyte interface was 1.52 Omega cm(2) at a MWCNT-CE thickness of 0.31 microm, which is lower than that of a Pt-CE/electrolyte interface, 1.78 Omega cm(2). This highlights the potential for the low-cost CE fabrication of DSSCs using a facile deposition technique from an environmentally "friendly" solution at low temperatures.

Electronic grain boundary properties in polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se2 semiconductors for thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baier, Robert

2012-01-01

Solar cells based on polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGSe) thin film absorbers reach the highest energy conversion efficiency among all thin film solar cells. The record efficiency is at least partly attributed to benign electronic properties of grain boundaries (GBs) in the CIGSe layers. However, despite a high amount of research on this phenomenon the underlying physics is not sufficiently understood. This thesis presents an elaborate study on the electronic properties of GBs in CIGSe thin films. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) was employed to investigate the electronic properties of GBs in dependence of the Ga-content. Five CIGSe thin lms with various Ga-contents were grown by means of similar three stage co-evaporation processes. Both as grown as well as chemically treated (KCN etched) thin films were analyzed. The chemical treatment was employed to remove surface oxides. No difference in electronic GB properties was found with or without the chemical treatment. Therefore, we conclude that a moderate surface oxidation does not alter the electronic properties of GBs. In general, one can observe significant variations of electronic potential barriers at GBs. Under consideration of the averaging effect of the work function signal of nanoscale potential distributions in KPFM measurements which was quantified in the course of this thesis both positive and negative potential barriers in a range between ∼-350 mV and ∼+450 mV were detected. Additionally, variations in the defect densities at GBs between ∼3.1 x 10 11 cm -2 and ∼2.1 x 10 12 cm -2 were found. However, no correlation between the electronic properties of GBs and the Ga-content of CIGSe thin films was discovered. Consequently, one cannot explain the drop in device efficiency observed for CIGSe thin film solar cells with a high Ga-content by a change of the electronic properties of GBs. Combined KPFM and electron backscatter diffraction measurements were employed for the first time on CIGSe thin

Thin film polarizer and color filter based on photo-polymerizable nematic liquid crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadimasoudi, Mohammad; Neyts, Kristiaan; Beeckman, Jeroen

2015-03-01

We present a method to fabricate a thin film color filter based on a mixture of photo-polymerizable liquid crystal and chiral dopant. A chiral nematic liquid crystal layer reflects light for a certain wavelength interval Δλ (= Δn.P) with the period and Δn the birefringence of the liquid crystal. The reflection band is determined by the chiral dopant concentration. The bandwidth is limited to 80nm and the reflectance is at most 50% for unpolarized incident light. The thin color filter is interesting for innovative applications like polarizer-free reflective displays, polarization-independent devices, stealth technologies, or smart switchable reflective windows to control solar light and heat. The reflected light has strong color saturation without absorption because of the sharp band edges. A thin film polarizer is developed by using a mixture of photo-polymerizable liquid crystal and color-neutral dye. The fabricated thin film absorbs light that is polarized parallel to the c axis of the LC. The obtained polarization ratio is 80% for a film of only 12 μm. The thin film polarizer and the color filter feature excellent film characteristics without domains and can be detached from the substrate which is useful for e.g. flexible substrates.

Multiscale Computational Fluid Dynamics: Methodology and Application to PECVD of Thin Film Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marquis Crose

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This work focuses on the development of a multiscale computational fluid dynamics (CFD simulation framework with application to plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of thin film solar cells. A macroscopic, CFD model is proposed which is capable of accurately reproducing plasma chemistry and transport phenomena within a 2D axisymmetric reactor geometry. Additionally, the complex interactions that take place on the surface of a-Si:H thin films are coupled with the CFD simulation using a novel kinetic Monte Carlo scheme which describes the thin film growth, leading to a multiscale CFD model. Due to the significant computational challenges imposed by this multiscale CFD model, a parallel computation strategy is presented which allows for reduced processing time via the discretization of both the gas-phase mesh and microscopic thin film growth processes. Finally, the multiscale CFD model has been applied to the PECVD process at industrially relevant operating conditions revealing non-uniformities greater than 20% in the growth rate of amorphous silicon films across the radius of the wafer.

Electrical properties and surface morphology of electron beam evaporated p-type silicon thin films on polyethylene terephthalate for solar cells applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ang, P. C.; Ibrahim, K.; Pakhuruddin, M. Z. [Nano-Optoelectronics Research and Technology Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden 11800 Penang (Malaysia)

2015-04-24

One way to realize low-cost thin film silicon (Si) solar cells fabrication is by depositing the films with high-deposition rate and manufacturing-compatible electron beam (e-beam) evaporation onto inexpensive foreign substrates such as glass or plastic. Most of the ongoing research is reported on e-beam evaporation of Si films on glass substrates to make polycrystalline solar cells but works combining both e-beam evaporation and plastic substrates are still scarce in the literature. This paper studies electrical properties and surface morphology of 1 µm electron beam evaporated Al-doped p-type silicon thin films on textured polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate for application as an absorber layer in solar cells. In this work, Si thin films with different doping concentrations (including an undoped reference) are prepared by e-beam evaporation. Energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) showed that the Si films are uniformly doped by Al dopant atoms. With increased Al/Si ratio, doping concentration increased while both resistivity and carrier mobility of the films showed opposite relationships. Root mean square (RMS) surface roughness increased. Overall, the Al-doped Si film with Al/Si ratio of 2% (doping concentration = 1.57×10{sup 16} atoms/cm{sup 3}) has been found to provide the optimum properties of a p-type absorber layer for fabrication of thin film Si solar cells on PET substrate.

Electrical properties and surface morphology of electron beam evaporated p-type silicon thin films on polyethylene terephthalate for solar cells applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ang, P. C.; Ibrahim, K.; Pakhuruddin, M. Z.

2015-04-01

One way to realize low-cost thin film silicon (Si) solar cells fabrication is by depositing the films with high-deposition rate and manufacturing-compatible electron beam (e-beam) evaporation onto inexpensive foreign substrates such as glass or plastic. Most of the ongoing research is reported on e-beam evaporation of Si films on glass substrates to make polycrystalline solar cells but works combining both e-beam evaporation and plastic substrates are still scarce in the literature. This paper studies electrical properties and surface morphology of 1 µm electron beam evaporated Al-doped p-type silicon thin films on textured polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate for application as an absorber layer in solar cells. In this work, Si thin films with different doping concentrations (including an undoped reference) are prepared by e-beam evaporation. Energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) showed that the Si films are uniformly doped by Al dopant atoms. With increased Al/Si ratio, doping concentration increased while both resistivity and carrier mobility of the films showed opposite relationships. Root mean square (RMS) surface roughness increased. Overall, the Al-doped Si film with Al/Si ratio of 2% (doping concentration = 1.57×1016 atoms/cm3) has been found to provide the optimum properties of a p-type absorber layer for fabrication of thin film Si solar cells on PET substrate.

Low-Temperature Solution-Processed Gate Dielectrics for High-Performance Organic Thin Film Transistors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaekyun Kim

2015-10-01

Full Text Available A low-temperature solution-processed high-k gate dielectric layer for use in a high-performance solution-processed semiconducting polymer organic thin-film transistor (OTFT was demonstrated. Photochemical activation of sol-gel-derived AlOx films under 150 °C permitted the formation of a dense film with low leakage and relatively high dielectric-permittivity characteristics, which are almost comparable to the results yielded by the conventionally used vacuum deposition and high temperature annealing method. Octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA self-assembled monolayer (SAM treatment of the AlOx was employed in order to realize high-performance (>0.4 cm2/Vs saturation mobility and low-operation-voltage (<5 V diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP-based OTFTs on an ultra-thin polyimide film (3-μm thick. Thus, low-temperature photochemically-annealed solution-processed AlOx film with SAM layer is an attractive candidate as a dielectric-layer for use in high-performance organic TFTs operated at low voltages.

Materials and Light Management for High-Efficiency Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

OpenAIRE

Tan, H.

2015-01-01

Direct conversion of sunlight into electricity is one of the most promising approaches to provide sufficient renewable energy for humankind. Solar cells are such devices which can efficiently generate electricity from sunlight through the photovoltaic effect. Thin-film silicon solar cells, a type of photovoltaic (PV) devices which deploy the chemical-vapor-deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) and their alloys as the absorber layers and doped ...

Morphological and crystalline characterization of pulsed laser deposited pentacene thin films for organic transistor applications

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Antonio; Bonhommeau, Sébastien; Sirotkin, Sergey; Desplanche, Sarah; Kaba, Mamadouba; Constantinescu, Catalin; Diallo, Abdou Karim; Talaga, David; Penuelas, Jose; Videlot-Ackermann, Christine; Alloncle, Anne-Patricia; Delaporte, Philippe; Rodriguez, Vincent

2017-10-01

We show that high-quality pentacene (P5) thin films of high crystallinity and low surface roughness can be produced by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) without inducing chemical degradation of the molecules. By using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements, we also demonstrate that the deposition of P5 on Au layers result in highly disordered P5 thin films. While the P5 molecules arrange within the well-documented 1.54-nm thin-film phase on high-purity fused silica substrates, this ordering is indeed destroyed upon introducing an Au interlayer. This observation may be one explanation for the low electrical performances measured in P5-based organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) deposited by laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT).

Vis-Near-Infrared Photodetectors Based on Methyl Ammonium Lead Iodide Thin Films by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Nagabhushan; Dias, Sandra; Krupanidhi, S. B.

2018-04-01

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials are considered as promising candidates for emerging thin-film photodetectors. In this work, we discuss the application of the CH3NH3PbI3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition for photodetection applications. With this method, we obtained good perovskite film coverage on fluorine-doped tin oxide-coated substrates and observed wel- developed grains. The films showed no sign of degradation over several months of testing. We investigated the surface morphology and surface roughness of the films by field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The optical response of the films was studied using ultraviolet-visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy. We carried out a study on the solar and infrared photodetection of CH3NH3PbI3 thin films. The values of the responsivity, sensitivity, external quantum efficiency and specific detectivity under 1 sun illumination and 0.7 V bias were 105.4 A/W, 1.9, 2.38 × 104% and 1.5 × 1012 Jones, respectively.

Effect of band-aligned double absorber layers on photovoltaic characteristics of chemical bath deposited PbS/CdS thin film solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho Yeon, Deuk; Chandra Mohanty, Bhaskar; Lee, Seung Min; Soo Cho, Yong

2015-09-23

Here we report the highest energy conversion efficiency and good stability of PbS thin film-based depleted heterojunction solar cells, not involving PbS quantum dots. The PbS thin films were grown by the low cost chemical bath deposition (CBD) process at relatively low temperatures. Compared to the quantum dot solar cells which require critical and multistep complex procedures for surface passivation, the present approach, leveraging the facile modulation of the optoelectronic properties of the PbS films by the CBD process, offers a simpler route for optimization of PbS-based solar cells. Through an architectural modification, wherein two band-aligned junctions are stacked without any intervening layers, an enhancement of conversion efficiency by as much as 30% from 3.10 to 4.03% facilitated by absorption of a wider range of solar spectrum has been obtained. As an added advantage of the low band gap PbS stacked over a wide gap PbS, the devices show stability over a period of 10 days.

Aluminum–Titanium Alloy Back Contact Reducing Production Cost of Silicon Thin-Film Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsin-Yu Wu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this study, metal films are fabricated by using an in-line reactive direct current magnetron sputtering system. The aluminum–titanium (AlTi back contacts are prepared by changing the pressure from 10 mTorr to 25 mTorr. The optical, electrical and structural properties of the metal back contacts are investigated. The solar cells with the AlTi had lower contact resistance than those with the silver (Ag back contact, resulting in a higher fill factor. The AlTi contact can achieve a solar cell conversion efficiency as high as that obtained from the Ag contact. These findings encourage the potential adoption of AlTi films as an alternative back contact to silver for silicon thin-film solar cells.

Environmental influences on the performance of thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gottschalg, Ralph

2001-01-01

The response of thin film photovoltaic devices to changes in the environment is not well understood. There are a large number of conflicting reports, reflecting largely the superimposed nature of the environmental effects. A separation of the effects is not often attempted mainly because of the lack of appropriate spectral data. An experimental system has been designed and operated to facilitate the separation of the environmental effects, including spectral effects. This involves measurements in a controlled laboratory environment as well as outdoor monitoring. Furthermore, a number of analysis tools have been developed and tested for their suitability. In order to develop a system model, the applicability of parametric models for thin film devices is probed. The thermal variation of the underlying physical parameters is investigated and problems of describing thin film devices with parametric models are discussed. It is shown that the magnitude of the spectral effects for thin film devices is potentially much more significant than for conventional crystalline silicon devices. This analysis is centred on the primary spectral effect, i.e. it is conducted purely on the basis of available light and does not consider any absorption profiles or device structures. It is also shown that there is a strong daily and seasonal variation in the fraction of the useful light for devices employing a larger band gap. Environmental effects are observed directly from outdoor measurements. It is apparent that many of the reported idiosyncrasies occurring during the operation of thin film devices can be explained simply by including spectral effects. It is possible to show the secondary spectral effect for multi-junction devices, i.e. an effect that depends on the composition of the solar irradiance and not purely on the magnitude of spectrally useful irradiance. This effect impacts mainly on the short circuit current and to some extent on the fill factor. Finally, the findings of

Synthesis of nanostructured CuInS{sub 2} thin films and their application in dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Yu; Zhuang, Mixue; Liu, Zhen; Wei, Aixiang [Guangdong University of Technology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Material and Energy, Guangzhou (China); Luo, Fazhi [Guangdong University of Technology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Material and Energy, Guangzhou (China); The Fifth Electronics Research Institute of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Guangzhou (China); Liu, Jun [Guangdong University of Technology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Material and Energy, Guangzhou (China); Zhejiang University, State Key Lab of Silicon Materials, Hangzhou (China)

2016-03-15

CuInS{sub 2} (CIS) nanostructure thin films were successfully synthesized on FTO conductive glass substrates by solvothermal method. It is found that the surface morphology and microstructure of CIS thin films can be tailored by simply adjusting the concentration of oxalic acid. CIS nanostructure films with texture of ''nanosheet array'' and ''flower-like microsphere'' were obtained and used as Pt-free counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The nanosheet array CIS was found to have a better electrocatalytic activity than the flower-like microsphere one. DSSCs based on nanosheet array CIS thin film counter electrode show conversion efficiency of 3.33 %, which is comparable to the Pt-catalyzed DSSCs. The easy synthesis, low cost, morphology tunable and excellent electrocatalytic property may make the CuInS{sub 2} nanostructure competitive as counter electrode in DSSCs. (orig.)

Enhancing the color gamut of white displays using novel deep-blue organic fluorescent dyes to form color-changed thin films with improved efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wei-Ting; Huang, Wen-Yao

2012-10-01

This study used the novel fluorescence based deep-blue-emitting molecule BPVPDA in an organic fluorescent color thin film to exhibit deep blue color with CIE coordinates of (0.13, 0.16). The developed original organic RGB color thin film technology enables the optimization of the distinctive features of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) and thin-film-transistor (TFT) LCD display. The color filter structure maintains the same high resolution to obtain a higher level of brightness in comparison with conventional organic RGB color thin film. The image-processing engine is designed to achieve a sharp text image for a TFT LCD with organic color thin films. The organic color thin films structure uses an organic dye dopant in a limpid photoresist. With this technology, the following characteristics can be obtained: 1. high color reproduction of gamut ratio, and 2. improved luminous efficiency with organic color fluorescent thin film. This performance is among the best results ever reported for a color-filter used on TFT-LCD or OLED.

thin films

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

microscopy (SEM) studies, respectively. The Fourier transform ... Thin films; chemical synthesis; hydrous tin oxide; FTIR; electrical properties. 1. Introduction ... dehydrogenation of organic compounds (Hattori et al 1987). .... SEM images of (a) bare stainless steel and (b) SnO2:H2O thin film on stainless steel substrate at a ...

Physical vapor deposition of CdTe thin films at low temperature for solar cell applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heisler, Christoph; Brueckner, Michael; Lind, Felix; Kraft, Christian; Reisloehner, Udo; Ronning, Carsten; Wesch, Werner [Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, D-07743 Jena (Germany)

2012-07-01

Cadmium telluride is successfully utilized as an absorber material for thin film solar cells. Industrial production makes use of high substrate temperatures for the deposition of CdTe absorber layers. However, in order to exploit flexible substrates and to simplify the manufacturing process, lower deposition temperatures are beneficial. Based on the phase diagram of CdTe, predictions on the stoichiometry of CdTe thin films grown at low substrate temperatures are made in this work. These predictions were verified experimentally using additional sources of Cd and Te during the deposition of the CdTe thin films at different substrate temperatures. The deposited layers were analyzed with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. In case of CdTe layers which were deposited at substrate temperatures lower than 200 C without usage of additional sources we found a non-stoichiometric growth of the CdTe layers. The application of the additional sources leads to a stoichiometric growth for substrate temperatures down to 100 C which is a significant reduction of the substrate temperature during deposition.

Charge carrier mobility in thin films of organic semiconductors by the gated van der Pauw method

Science.gov (United States)

Rolin, Cedric; Kang, Enpu; Lee, Jeong-Hwan; Borghs, Gustaaf; Heremans, Paul; Genoe, Jan

2017-01-01

Thin film transistors based on high-mobility organic semiconductors are prone to contact problems that complicate the interpretation of their electrical characteristics and the extraction of important material parameters such as the charge carrier mobility. Here we report on the gated van der Pauw method for the simple and accurate determination of the electrical characteristics of thin semiconducting films, independently from contact effects. We test our method on thin films of seven high-mobility organic semiconductors of both polarities: device fabrication is fully compatible with common transistor process flows and device measurements deliver consistent and precise values for the charge carrier mobility and threshold voltage in the high-charge carrier density regime that is representative of transistor operation. The gated van der Pauw method is broadly applicable to thin films of semiconductors and enables a simple and clean parameter extraction independent from contact effects. PMID:28397852

Trade-off between Photon Management Efficacy and Material Quality in Thin-Film Solar Cells on Nanostructured Substrates of High Aspect Ratio Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan H. Chin

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Although texturing of the transparent electrode of thin-film solar cells has long been used to enhance light absorption via light trapping, such texturing has involved low aspect ratio features. With the recent development of nanotechnology, nanostructured substrates enable improved light trapping and enhanced optical absorption via resonances, a process known as photon management, in thin-film solar cells. Despite the progress made in the development of photon management in thin-film solar cells using nanostructures substrates, the structural integrity of the thin-film solar cells deposited onto such nanostructured substrates is rarely considered. Here, we report the observation of the reduction in the open circuit voltage of amorphous silicon solar cells deposited onto a nanostructured substrate with increasing areal number density of high aspect ratio structures. For a nanostructured substrate with the areal number density of such nanostructures increasing in correlation with the distance from one edge of the substrate, a correlation between the open circuit voltage reduction and the increase of the areal number density of high aspect ratio nanostructures of the front electrode of the small-size amorphous silicon solar cells deposited onto different regions of the substrate with graded nanostructure density indicates the effect of the surface morphology on the material quality, i.e., a trade-off between photon management efficacy and material quality. This observed trade-off highlights the importance of optimizing the morphology of the nanostructured substrate to ensure conformal deposition of the thin-film solar cell.

Thin film coatings for space electrical power system applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gulino, Daniel A.

1988-01-01

This paper examines some of the ways in which thin film coatings can play a role in aerospace applications. Space systems discussed include photovoltaic and solar dynamic electric power generation systems, including applications in environmental protection, thermal energy storage, and radiator emittance enhancement. Potential applications of diamondlike films to both atmospheric and space based systems are examined. Also, potential uses of thin films of the recently discovered high-temperature superconductive materials are discussed.

Band gap engineering of hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films for solar cell application

Science.gov (United States)

Dwivedi, Neeraj; Kumar, Sushil; Dayal, Saurabh; Rauthan, C. M. S.; Panwar, O. S.; Malik, Hitendra K.

2012-10-01

In this work, self bias variation, nitrogen introduction and oxygen plasma (OP) treatment approaches have been used for tailoring the band gap of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) thin films. The band gap of a-C:H and modified a- C:H films is varied in the range from 1.25 eV to 3.45 eV, which is found to be nearly equal to the full solar spectrum (1 eV- 3.5 eV). Hence, such a-C:H and modified a-C:H films are found to be potential candidate for the development of full spectrum solar cells. Besides this, computer aided simulation with considering variable band gap a-C:H and modified a- C:H films as window layer for amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells is also performed by AFORS-HET software and maximum efficiency as ~14 % is realized. Since a-C:H is hard material, hence a-C:H and modified a-C:H films as window layer may avoid the use of additional hard and protective coating particularly in n-i-p configuration.

Characterization of Optic Properties ZnO:Al Thin Film on Glass Substrate for Solar Cell Window

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiryoadi; Yunanto; Bambang Siswanto; Sri Sulamdari; Sudjatmoko

2002-01-01

It has been characterized a ZnO:Al thin film growth using sputtering technique for solar cell window. The aims of this research is to get a ZnO:Al thin film that can be used as a TCO (Transparent Conducting Oxide) on amorphous silicon solar cell. To get an optimum properties, deposition process has been done for various parameters, such as composition/concentration of Al, substrate temperature, gas pressure and deposition time. Based on experiments result, it is found that the optimum result was achieved at temperature 450 o C, gas pressure 6 x 10 -2 torr and time 1.5 hours. From optical properties (transmittance) measurements using UV-vis, it was found that the optimum results was achieved at temperature 450 o C. At this conditions, wave length (500 - 800) nm, the transmittance was (50 - 82) %, at pressure 6 x 10 -2 torr the transmittance was (50 - 80) % and at deposition time 1.5 hours was (49 - 81) %. For ZnO thin film, was at wave length (500 - 800) nm, the transmittance was (78 - 80) %. From micro structure analysis using SEM, it was found that the thickness layer of ZnO was 1.5 μm and 1.3 μm for ZnO: Al. While from surface morphology it was found that for ZnO thin layer the grains was distributed homogeneously, while for ZnO: Al the grains was distributed unhomogeneously. (author)

Thin film Encapsulations of Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsai Fa-Ta

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Various encapsulated films for flexible organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs were studied in this work, where gas barrier layers including inorganic Al2O3 thin films prepared by atomic layer deposition, organic Parylene C thin films prepared by chemical vapor deposition, and their combination were considered. The transmittance and water vapor transmission rate of the various organic and inorgabic encapsulated films were tested. The effects of the encapsulated films on the luminance and current density of the OLEDs were discussed, and the life time experiments of the OLEDs with these encapsulated films were also conducted. The results showed that the transmittance are acceptable even the PET substrate were coated two Al2O3 and Parylene C layers. The results also indicated the WVTR of the PET substrate improved by coating the barrier layers. In the encapsulation performance, it indicates the OLED with Al2O3 /PET, 1 pair/PET, and 2 pairs/PET presents similarly higher luminance than the other two cases. Although the 1 pair/PET encapsulation behaves a litter better luminance than the 2 pairs/PET encapsulation, the 2 pairs/PET encapsulation has much better life time. The OLED with 2 pairs/PET encapsulation behaves near double life time to the 1 pair encapsulation, and four times to none encapsulation.

Enhanced efficiency of hybrid amorphous silicon solar cells based on single-walled carbon nanotubes and polymer composite thin film

Science.gov (United States)

Rajanna, Pramod M.; Gilshteyn, Evgenia P.; Yagafarov, Timur; Aleekseeva, Alena K.; Anisimov, Anton S.; Neumüller, Alex; Sergeev, Oleg; Bereznev, Sergei; Maricheva, Jelena; Nasibulin, Albert G.

2018-03-01

We report a simple approach to fabricate hybrid solar cells (HSCs) based on a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) film and thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). Randomly oriented high-quality SWCNTs with conductivity enhanced by means of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate are used as a window layer and a front electrode. A series of HSCs are fabricated in ambient conditions with varying SWCNT film thicknesses. The polymethylmethacrylate layer drop-casted on fabricated HSCs reduces the reflection fourfold and enhances the short-circuit J sc , open-circuit V oc , and efficiency by nearly 10%. A state-of-the-art J-V performance is shown for SWCNT/a-Si HSC with an open-circuit voltage of 900 mV and an efficiency of 3.4% under simulated one-sun AM 1.5 G direct illumination.

Optical modeling and simulation of thin-film photovoltaic devices

CERN Document Server

Krc, Janez

2013-01-01

In wafer-based and thin-film photovoltaic (PV) devices, the management of light is a crucial aspect of optimization since trapping sunlight in active parts of PV devices is essential for efficient energy conversions. Optical modeling and simulation enable efficient analysis and optimization of the optical situation in optoelectronic and PV devices. Optical Modeling and Simulation of Thin-Film Photovoltaic Devices provides readers with a thorough guide to performing optical modeling and simulations of thin-film solar cells and PV modules. It offers insight on examples of existing optical models

Development of practical application technology for photovoltaic power generation systems in fiscal 1997. Development of technologies to manufacture application type thin film solar cells with new structure (development of technologies to manufacture amorphous silicon and thin film poly-crystal silicon hybrid thin film solar cells); 1997 nendo taiyoko hatsuden system jitsuyoka gijutsu kaihatsu. Usumaku taiyo denchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu, oyogata shinkozo usumaku taiyo denchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu (amorphous silicon/usumaku takessho silicon hybrid usumaku taiyo denchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

Research and development was performed with an objective to manufacture amorphous silicon and thin film poly-crystal silicon hybrid solar cells with large area and at low cost, being a high-efficiency next generation solar cell. The research was performed based on a principle that low-cost substrates shall be used, that a manufacturing process capable of forming amorphous silicon films with large area shall be based on, and that silicon film with as thin as possible thickness shall be used. Fiscal 1997 has started research and development on making the cells hybrid with amorphous silicon cells. As a result of the research and development, such achievements have been attained as using texture structure on the rear layer in thin poly-crystal silicon film solar cells with a thickness of two microns, and having achieved conversion efficiency of 10.1% by optimizing the junction interface forming conditions. A photo-deterioration test was carried out on hybrid cells which combine the thin poly-crystal silicon film cells having STAR structure with the amorphous silicon cells. Stabilization efficiency of 11.5% was attained after light has been irradiated for 500 hours or longer. (NEDO)

Double-layer indium doped zinc oxide for silicon thin-film solar cell prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiao Bao-Chen; Zhang Xiao-Dan; Wei Chang-Chun; Sun Jian; Ni Jian; Zhao Ying

2011-01-01

Indium doped zinc oxide (ZnO:In) thin films were prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis on corning eagle 2000 glass substrate. 1 and 2 at.% indium doped single-layer ZnO:In thin films with different amounts of acetic acid added in the initial solution were fabricated. The 1 at.% indium doped single-layers have triangle grains. The 2 at.% indium doped single-layer with 0.18 acetic acid adding has the resistivity of 6.82×10 −3 Ω·cm and particle grains. The double-layers structure is designed to fabricate the ZnO:In thin film with low resistivity (2.58×10 −3 Ω·cm) and good surface morphology. It is found that the surface morphology of the double-layer ZnO:In film strongly depends on the substrate-layer, and the second-layer plays a large part in the resistivity of the double-layer ZnO:In thin film. Both total and direct transmittances of the double-layer ZnO:In film are above 80% in the visible light region. Single junction a-Si:H solar cell based on the double-layer ZnO:In as front electrode is also investigated. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

Thin-film filament-based solar cells and modules

Science.gov (United States)

Tuttle, J. R.; Cole, E. D.; Berens, T. A.; Alleman, J.; Keane, J.

1997-04-01

This concept paper describes a patented, novel photovoltaic (PV) technology that is capable of achieving near-term commercialization and profitability based upon design features that maximize product performance while minimizing initial and future manufacturing costs. DayStar Technologies plans to exploit these features and introduce a product to the market based upon these differential positions. The technology combines the demonstrated performance and reliability of existing thin-film PV product with a cell and module geometry that cuts material usage by a factor of 5, and enhances performance and manufacturability relative to standard flat-plate designs. The target product introduction price is 1.50/Watt-peak (Wp). This is approximately one-half the cost of the presently available PV product. Additional features include: increased efficiency through low-level concentration, no scribe or grid loss, simple series interconnect, high voltage, light weight, high-throughput manufacturing, large area immediate demonstration, flexibility, modularity.

Understanding polymorphism in organic semiconductor thin films through nanoconfinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Diao, Ying; Lenn, Kristina M; Lee, Wen-Ya; Blood-Forsythe, Martin A; Xu, Jie; Mao, Yisha; Kim, Yeongin; Reinspach, Julia A; Park, Steve; Aspuru-Guzik, Alán; Xue, Gi; Clancy, Paulette; Bao, Zhenan; Mannsfeld, Stefan C B

2014-12-10

Understanding crystal polymorphism is a long-standing challenge relevant to many fields, such as pharmaceuticals, organic semiconductors, pigments, food, and explosives. Controlling polymorphism of organic semiconductors (OSCs) in thin films is particularly important given that such films form the active layer in most organic electronics devices and that dramatic changes in the electronic properties can be induced even by small changes in the molecular packing. However, there are very few polymorphic OSCs for which the structure-property relationships have been elucidated so far. The major challenges lie in the transient nature of metastable forms and the preparation of phase-pure, highly crystalline thin films for resolving the crystal structures and evaluating the charge transport properties. Here we demonstrate that the nanoconfinement effect combined with the flow-enhanced crystal engineering technique is a powerful and likely material-agnostic method to identify existing polymorphs in OSC materials and to prepare the individual pure forms in thin films at ambient conditions. With this method we prepared high quality crystal polymorphs and resolved crystal structures of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-pentacene), including a new polymorph discovered via in situ grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and confirmed by molecular mechanic simulations. We further correlated molecular packing with charge transport properties using quantum chemical calculations and charge carrier mobility measurements. In addition, we applied our methodology to a [1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]1benzothiophene (BTBT) derivative and successfully stabilized its metastable form.

Enhanced Charge Extraction of Li-Doped TiO2 for Efficient Thermal-Evaporated Sb2S3 Thin Film Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Chunfeng; Luo, Jingting; Lan, Huabin; Fan, Bo; Peng, Huanxin; Zhao, Jun; Sun, Huibin; Zheng, Zhuanghao; Liang, Guangxing; Fan, Ping

2018-01-01

We provided a new method to improve the efficiency of Sb2S3 thin film solar cells. The TiO2 electron transport layers were doped by lithium to improve their charge extraction properties for the thermal-evaporated Sb2S3 solar cells. The Mott-Schottky curves suggested a change of energy band and faster charge transport in the Li-doped TiO2 films. Compared with the undoped TiO2, Li-doped mesoporous TiO2 dramatically improved the photo-voltaic performance of the thermal-evaporated Sb2S3 thin film solar cells, with the average power conversion efficiency (PCE) increasing from 1.79% to 4.03%, as well as the improved open-voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Jsc) and fill factors. The best device based on Li-doped TiO2 achieved a power conversion efficiency up to 4.42% as well as a Voc of 0.645 V, which are the highest values among the reported thermal-evaporated Sb2S3 solar cells. This study showed that Li-doping on TiO2 can effectively enhance the charge extraction properties of electron transport layers, offering a new strategy to improve the efficiency of Sb2S3-based solar cells. PMID:29495612

Enhanced Charge Extraction of Li-Doped TiO2 for Efficient Thermal-Evaporated Sb2S3 Thin Film Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunfeng Lan

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We provided a new method to improve the efficiency of Sb2S3 thin film solar cells. The TiO2 electron transport layers were doped by lithium to improve their charge extraction properties for the thermal-evaporated Sb2S3 solar cells. The Mott-Schottky curves suggested a change of energy band and faster charge transport in the Li-doped TiO2 films. Compared with the undoped TiO2, Li-doped mesoporous TiO2 dramatically improved the photo-voltaic performance of the thermal-evaporated Sb2S3 thin film solar cells, with the average power conversion efficiency (PCE increasing from 1.79% to 4.03%, as well as the improved open-voltage (Voc, short-circuit current (Jsc and fill factors. The best device based on Li-doped TiO2 achieved a power conversion efficiency up to 4.42% as well as a Voc of 0.645 V, which are the highest values among the reported thermal-evaporated Sb2S3 solar cells. This study showed that Li-doping on TiO2 can effectively enhance the charge extraction properties of electron transport layers, offering a new strategy to improve the efficiency of Sb2S3-based solar cells.

Fully transparent conformal organic thin-film transistor array and its application as LED front driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Nan; Ren, Hang; Tang, Qingxin; Zhao, Xiaoli; Tong, Yanhong; Hu, Wenping; Liu, Yichun

2018-02-22

A fully transparent conformal organic thin-film field-effect transistor array is demonstrated based on a photolithography-compatible ultrathin metallic grid gate electrode and a solution-processed C 8 -BTBT film. The resulting organic field-effect transistor array exhibits a high optical transparency of >80% over the visible spectrum, mobility up to 2 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , on/off ratio of 10 5 -10 6 , switching current of >0.1 mA, and excellent light stability. The transparent conformal transistor array is demonstrated to adhere well to flat and curved LEDs as front driving. These results present promising applications of the solution-processed wide-bandgap organic semiconductor thin films in future large-scale transparent conformal active-matrix displays.

Novel organic semiconductors and dielectric materials for high performance and low-voltage organic thin-film transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Myung-Han

Two novel classes of organic semiconductors based on perfluoroarene/arene-modified oligothiophenes and perfluoroacyl/acyl-derivatized quaterthiophens are developed. The frontier molecular orbital energies of these compounds are studied by optical spectroscopy and electrochemistry while solid-state/film properties are investigated by thermal analysis, x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) performance parameters are discussed in terms of the interplay between semiconductor molecular energetics and film morphologies/microstructures. For perfluoroarene-thiophene oligomer systems, majority charge carrier type and mobility exhibit a strong correlation with the regiochemistry of perfluoroarene incorporation. In quaterthiophene-based semiconductors, carbonyl-functionalization allows tuning of the majority carrier type from p-type to ambipolar and to n-type. In situ conversion of a p-type semiconducting film to n-type film is also demonstrated. Very thin self-assembled or spin-on organic dielectric films have been integrated into OTFTs to achieve 1 - 2 V operating voltages. These new dielectrics are deposited either by layer-by-layer solution phase deposition of molecular precursors or by spin-coating a mixture of polymer and crosslinker, resulting in smooth and virtually pinhole-free thin films having exceptionally large capacitances (300--700 nF/cm2) and low leakage currents (10 -9 - 10-7 A/cm2). These organic dielectrics are compatible with various vapor- or solution-deposited p- and n-channel organic semiconductors. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that spin-on crosslinked-polymer-blend dielectrics can be employed for large-area/patterned electronics, and complementary inverters. A general approach for probing semiconductor-dielectric interface effects on OTFT performance parameters using bilayer gate dielectrics is presented. Organic semiconductors having p-, n-type, or ambipolar majority charge carriers are grown on

Ultra-thin films of polysilsesquioxanes possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups as gate insulator for organic field-effect transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakahara, Yoshio; Kawa, Haruna; Yoshiki, Jun; Kumei, Maki; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Oi, Fumio; Yamakado, Hideo; Fukuda, Hisashi; Kimura, Keiichi

2012-01-01

Polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups as an organic moiety of the side chain were synthesized by sol–gel condensation copolymerization of the corresponding trialkoxysilanes. The ultra-thin PSQ film with a radical initiator and a cross-linking agent was prepared by a spin-coating method, and the film was cured integrally at low temperatures of less than 120 °C through two different kinds of polymeric reactions, which were radical polymerization of vinyl groups and sol–gel condensation polymerization of terminated silanol and alkoxy groups. The obtained PSQ film showed the almost perfect solubilization resistance to acetone, which is a good solvent of PSQ before polymerization. It became clear by atomic force microscopy observation that the surface of the PSQ film was very smooth at a nano-meter level. Furthermore, pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor (OFET) with the PSQ film as a gate insulator showed typical p-channel enhancement mode operation characteristics and therefore the ultra-thin PSQ film has the potential to be applicable for solution-processed OFET systems. - Highlights: ► Polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups were synthesized. ► The ultra-thin PSQ film could be cured at low temperatures of less than 120 °C. ► The PSQ film showed the almost perfect solubilization resistance to organic solvent. ► The surface of the PSQ film was very smooth at a nano-meter level. ► Pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor with the PSQ film was fabricated.

Cuinse2 Thin Film For Solar Cell By Flash Evaporation

OpenAIRE

A.H. Soepardjo

2009-01-01

Deposition of thin films for material solar cell CuInSe2 are relatively simple. In this research mainly focused on the use of flash evaporation method, and the material created can then be characterized by optical and electrical properties. The optical characterization is done by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission and reflection by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. Electrical characterization is done by utilizing the Hall effect equipment. From these chara...

Single and multijunction silicon based thin film solar cells on a flexible substrate with absorber layers made by hot-wire CVD

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongbo

2007-09-01

With the worldwide growing concern about reliable energy supply and the environmental problems of fossil and nuclear energy production, the need for clean and sustainable energy sources is evident. Solar energy conversion, such as in photovoltaic systems, can play a major role in the urgently needed energy transition in electricity production. Solar cells based on thin film silicon and its alloys are a promising candidate that is capable of fulfilling the fast increasing demand of a reliable solar cell supply. The conventional method to deposit silicon thin films is based on plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) techniques, which have the disadvantage of increasing film inhomogeneity at a high deposition rate when scaling up for the industrial production. In this thesis, we study the possibility of making high efficiency single and multijunction thin film silicon solar cells with the so-called hot-wire CVD technique, in which no strong electromagnetic field is involved in the deposition. Therefore, the up-scaling for industrial production is straightforward. We report and discuss our findings on the correlation of substrate surface rms roughness and the main output parameter of a solar cell, the open circuit voltage Voc of c-Si:H n i p cells. By considering all the possible reasons that could influence the Voc of such cells, we conclude that the near linear correlation of Voc and substrate surface rms roughness is the result the two most probable reasons: the unintentional doping through the cracks originated near the valleys of the substrate surface due to the in-diffusion of impurities, and the high density electrical defects formed by the collision of columnar silicon structures. Both of them relate to the morphology of substrate surface. Therefore, to have the best cell performance on a rough substrate surface, a good control on the substrate surface morphology is necessary. Another issue influencing the performance of c-Si:H solar cells is the

Electronic properties of dioctylterthiophene-based organic thin-film transistors: A Kelvin probe force microscopy study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afsharimani, N.; Nysten, B.

2013-01-01

It appeared in the past decades that semi-conducting organic liquid crystals could be used as the active layer in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). They can be processed by simple methods such as inkjet printing, which paves the way to applications for cheap plastic electronics such as electronic tags, biosensors, and flexible screens. However, the measured field-effect mobility in these OTFTs is relatively low compared to inorganic devices. Generally, such low field-effect mobility values result from extrinsic effects such as grain boundaries or imperfect interfaces with source and drain electrodes. It has been shown that reducing the number of grain boundaries between the source and drain electrodes improves the field effect mobility. Therefore, it is important to understand the transport mechanisms by studying the local structure and electronic properties of organic thin films within the channel and at the interfaces with source and drain electrodes in order to improve the field-effect mobility in OTFTs. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is an ideal tool for that purpose since it allows to simultaneously investigate the local structure and the electrical potential distribution in electronic devices. In this work, the structure and the electrical properties of OTFTs based on dioctylterthiophene (DOTT) were studied. The transistors were fabricated by spin-coating DOTT on the transistor structures with untreated and treated (silanized) channel silicon oxide. The potential profiles across the channel and at the metal-electrode interfaces were measured by KPFM. The effect of surface treatment on the electrical properties, charge trapping phenomenon and hysteresis effects is demonstrated and analyzed. - Highlights: • Kelvin probe force microscopy study of organic thin film transistors. • Cost and time savings by using solution processable molecules as active layers. • Smaller crystals and less charge trapping effects in silanized devices. • Decrement

Development of a rapid thermal annealing process for polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rau, B. [Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy, Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)], E-mail: bjoern.rau@helmholtz-berlin.de; Weber, T.; Gorka, B.; Dogan, P.; Fenske, F.; Lee, K.Y.; Gall, S.; Rech, B. [Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy, Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)

2009-03-15

In this report, we discuss the influence of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the performance of polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) thin-film solar cells on glass where the poly-Si layers are differently prepared. The first part presents a comprehensive study of RTA treatments on poly-Si thin-films made by solid phase crystallization (SPC) (standard material of CSG Solar AG, Thalheim). By varying both plateau temperature (up to 1050 deg. C) and duration (up to 1000 s) of the annealing profile, we determined the parameters for a maximum open-circuit voltage (V{sub OC}). In addition, we applied our standard plasma hydrogenation treatment in order to passivate the remaining intra-grain defects and grain boundaries by atomic hydrogen resulting in a further increase of V{sub OC}. We found, that the preceding RTA treatment increases the effect of hydrogenation already at comparable low RTA temperatures. The effect on hydrogenation increases significantly with RTA temperature. In a second step we investigated the effect of the RTA and hydrogenation on large-grained poly-Si films based on the epitaxial thickening of poly-Si seed layers.

Surface and interface characterization of thin-film silicon solar cell structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerlach, Dominic

2013-02-21

The properties of Si thin films for solar cells, the interaction with different substrates and the influence of dopants are examined with synchrotron based x-ray spectroscopy - primarily X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES). The films are studied as-deposited (i.e., amorphous, a-Si) and after conversion into polycrystalline (poly-Si) employing solid phase crystallization (SPC). Si L{sub 2,3} XES spectra of thin-film Si samples can be described by a superposition of a-Si and monocrystalline Si-wafer (c-Si) reference spectra. According to a quantification based on that superposition principle, none of the investigated samples are completely crystallized - a measurable a-Si component always remains (5-20 %) regardless of deposition and treatment conditions. Based on additional results from electron back scattering diffraction different models are developed which may explain this finding. According to these models, the remnant a-Si component can be attributed to amorphous/disordered material at the grain boundaries. Using one of these models, the thickness of this grain-surrounding material s could be approximated to be (1.5 {+-} 0.5) nm. Further investigations of the SPC process reveal a faster crystallization for boron-doped samples, and a slower crystallization for phosphorous-doped samples, when compared to the crystallization of undoped a Si:H thin films. The peculiarities of B K XES spectra (and observed changes upon SPC) indicate that boron could act as a nucleation center promoting crystallization. Si L{sub 2,3} XES spectra of a-Si:H and P-doped poly-Si exhibit spectral features above the valence band maximum at 100 eV that could be attributed to a-Si defect states and n{sup +}-dopant states, respectively. The SPC crystallization velocity of Si thin films on ZnO:Al/glass is found to be faster than that on SiNx/glass substrate. Multiple indications for oxidization at the poly-Si/ZnO:Al interface are found based on

Thin Films in the Photovoltaic Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaeger-Waldau, A.

2008-03-01

In the past years, the yearly world market growth rate for Photovoltaics was an average of more than 40%, which makes it one of the fastest growing industries at present. Business analysts predict the market volume to increase to 40 billion euros in 2010 and expect rising profit margins and lower prices for consumers at the same time. Today PV is still dominated by wafer based Crystalline Silicon Technology as the 'working horse' in the global market, but thin films are gaining market shares. For 2007 around 12% are expected. The current silicon shortage and high demand has kept prices higher than anticipated from the learning curve experience and has widened the windows of opportunities for thin film solar modules. Current production capacity estimates for thin films vary between 3 and 6 GW in 2010, representing a 20% market share for these technologies. Despite the higher growth rates for thin film technologies compared with the industry average, Thin Film Photovoltaic Technologies are still facing a number of challenges to maintain this growth and increase market shares. The four main topics which were discussed during the workshop were: Potential for cost reduction; Standardization; Recycling; Performance over the lifetime.

Vapor transport deposition of antimony selenide thin film solar cells with 7.6% efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Xixing; Chen, Chao; Lu, Shuaicheng; Li, Kanghua; Kondrotas, Rokas; Zhao, Yang; Chen, Wenhao; Gao, Liang; Wang, Chong; Zhang, Jun; Niu, Guangda; Tang, Jiang

2018-06-05

Antimony selenide is an emerging promising thin film photovoltaic material thanks to its binary composition, suitable bandgap, high absorption coefficient, inert grain boundaries and earth-abundant constituents. However, current devices produced from rapid thermal evaporation strategy suffer from low-quality film and unsatisfactory performance. Herein, we develop a vapor transport deposition technique to fabricate antimony selenide films, a technique that enables continuous and low-cost manufacturing of cadmium telluride solar cells. We improve the crystallinity of antimony selenide films and then successfully produce superstrate cadmium sulfide/antimony selenide solar cells with a certified power conversion efficiency of 7.6%, a net 2% improvement over previous 5.6% record of the same device configuration. We analyze the deep defects in antimony selenide solar cells, and find that the density of the dominant deep defects is reduced by one order of magnitude using vapor transport deposition process.

Electrochemical etching of molybdenum for shunt removal in thin film solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hovestad, A.; Bressers, P.M.M.C.; Meertens, R.M.; Frijters, C.H.; Voorthuijzen, W.P.

2015-01-01

High yield and reproducible production is a major challenge in up-scaling thin film Cu(In,Ga)Se2(CIGS) solar cells to large area roll-to-roll industrial manufacturing. Pinholes enabling Ohmic contact between the ZnO:Al front-contact and Mo back contact of the CIGS cell create electrical shunts that

Development of SnS (FTO/CdS/SnS) thin films by nebulizer spray pyrolysis (NSP) for solar cell applications

Science.gov (United States)

Arulanantham, A. M. S.; Valanarasu, S.; Jeyadheepan, K.; Ganesh, V.; Shkir, Mohd

2018-01-01

Herein we report a well-organized analysis on various key-properties of SnS thin films for solar cell fabricated by nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffraction study reveals the polycrystalline nature of deposited films with orthorhombic crystal structure. The crystallite size was calculated and observed to be in the range of 8-28 nm with increasing molarity of precursor solution. The stoichiometry composition of SnS was confirmed by EDX study. SEM/AFM studies divulge the well-covered deposited surface with spherical grains and the size of grains is increasing with concentration and so the roughness. A remarkable decrease in band gap from 2.6 eV to 1.6 eV was noticed by raising the molar concentration from 0.025 M up to 0.075 M. A single strong emission peak at about 825 nm is observed in PL spectra with enhanced intensity which may be attributed to near band edge emission. From the Hall effect measurement, it was found that the SnS thin film exhibits p-type conductivity. The calculated values of resistivity and carrier concentration are 0.729 Ω cm and 3.67 × 1018/cm3 respectively. Furthermore, to study the photovoltaic properties of SnS thin films a heterojunction solar cell, FTO/n-CdS/p-SnS was produced and the conversion efficiency was recorded about 0.01%.

Ultrasonic Substrate Vibration-Assisted Drop Casting (SVADC) for the Fabrication of Photovoltaic Solar Cell Arrays and Thin-Film Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Eslamian, Morteza; Zabihi, Fatemeh

2015-12-01

A simple, low-cost, versatile, and potentially scalable casting method is proposed for the fabrication of micro- and nano-thin films, herein termed as ultrasonic "substrate vibration-assisted drop casting" (SVADC). The impingement of a solution drop onto a substrate in a simple process called drop casting, usually results in spreading of the liquid solution and the formation of a non-uniform thin solid film after solvent evaporation. Our previous and current supporting results, as well as few similar reports by others, confirm that imposing ultrasonic vibration on the substrate can simply convert the uncontrollable drop casting method into a controllable coating technique. Therefore, the SVADC may be used to fabricate an array of emerging thin-film solar cells, such as polymer, perovskite, and quantum-dot solar cells, as well as other small thin-film devices, in a roll-to-roll and automated fabrication process. The preliminary results demonstrate a ten-fold increase in electrical conductivity of PSS made by SVADC compared with the film made by conventional drop casting. Also, simple planar perovskite solar cells made here using SVADC show promising performance with an efficiency of over 3 % for a simple structure without performing process optimization or using expensive materials and treatments.

Sol-gel derived ZnO as an electron transport layer (ETL) for inverted organic solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, D. C.; Dwivedi, Shailendra Kumar; Dipak, Phukhrambam; Chandel, Tarun; Sharma, Rishi

2017-05-01

In this work, we present the study of the fabrication process of the sol-gel derived zinc oxide (ZnO) as an electron transport layer (ETL.). The solution processed inverted bulk heterojunction organic solar cells based on a thin film blend of poly (3-hexylthiophene 2, 5-diyl) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester is prepared. ZnO thin films are annealed at different temperature to optimize the solar cell performance and their characterization for their structural and optical properties are carried out. We have observed Voc=70mV, Jsc=1.33 µA/cm2 and FF=26% from the inverted heterojunction solar cell.

Electronic grain boundary properties in polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} semiconductors for thin film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baier, Robert

2012-06-25

Solar cells based on polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGSe) thin film absorbers reach the highest energy conversion efficiency among all thin film solar cells. The record efficiency is at least partly attributed to benign electronic properties of grain boundaries (GBs) in the CIGSe layers. However, despite a high amount of research on this phenomenon the underlying physics is not sufficiently understood. This thesis presents an elaborate study on the electronic properties of GBs in CIGSe thin films. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) was employed to investigate the electronic properties of GBs in dependence of the Ga-content. Five CIGSe thin lms with various Ga-contents were grown by means of similar three stage co-evaporation processes. Both as grown as well as chemically treated (KCN etched) thin films were analyzed. The chemical treatment was employed to remove surface oxides. No difference in electronic GB properties was found with or without the chemical treatment. Therefore, we conclude that a moderate surface oxidation does not alter the electronic properties of GBs. In general, one can observe significant variations of electronic potential barriers at GBs. Under consideration of the averaging effect of the work function signal of nanoscale potential distributions in KPFM measurements which was quantified in the course of this thesis both positive and negative potential barriers in a range between ∼-350 mV and ∼+450 mV were detected. Additionally, variations in the defect densities at GBs between ∼3.1 x 10{sup 11} cm{sup -2} and ∼2.1 x 10{sup 12} cm{sup -2} were found. However, no correlation between the electronic properties of GBs and the Ga-content of CIGSe thin films was discovered. Consequently, one cannot explain the drop in device efficiency observed for CIGSe thin film solar cells with a high Ga-content by a change of the electronic properties of GBs. Combined KPFM and electron backscatter diffraction measurements were employed for the

Microcrystalline silicon carbide alloys prepared with HWCVD as highly transparent and conductive window layers for thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finger, F.; Astakhov, O.; Bronger, T.; Carius, R.; Chen, T.; Dasgupta, A.; Gordijn, A.; Houben, L.; Huang, Y.; Klein, S.; Luysberg, M.; Wang, H.; Xiao, L.

2009-01-01

Crystalline silicon carbide alloys have a very high potential as transparent conductive window layers in thin-film solar cells provided they can be prepared in thin-film form and at compatible deposition temperatures. The low-temperature deposition of such material in microcrystalline form (μc-Si:C:H) was realized by use of monomethylsilane precursor gas diluted in hydrogen with the Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition process. A wide range of deposition parameters has been investigated and the structural, electronic and optical properties of the μc-SiC:H thin films have been studied. The material, which is strongly n-type from unintentional doping, has been used as window layer in n-side illuminated microcrystalline silicon solar cells. High short-circuit current densities are obtained due to the high transparency of the material resulting in a maximum solar cell conversion efficiency of 9.2%.

Full-spectrum light management by pseudo-disordered moth-eye structures for thin film solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaojun; Da, Yun; Xuan, Yimin

2017-08-07

In this paper, the role of pseudo-disordered moth-eye structures on the optical features for application to thin-film solar cells is investigated to realize the superior light management for the full-spectrum solar energy utilization, compared with some ordered structures. Without loss of generality, the c-Si thin film solar cell is taken as the example. The results demonstrate that the fluctuations introduced into the geometry parameters of moth-eye elements can lead to the remarkable absorption enhancement in the wavelength region of 0.3-1.1 μm and high transmission in the wavelength range of 1.1-2.5 μm. Two mechanisms including the increasing spectral density of modes and the intensive forescattering intensity are identified to be responsible for the absorption enhancement. In addition, the optical characteristics of the moth-eye surface with both disordered height and disordered diameter are insensitive to the incident angle.

Preparation of Ga-doped ZnO films by pulsed dc magnetron sputtering with cylindrical rotating target for thin film solar cell applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Beom-Ki; Lee, Tae-Il; Park, Ji-Hyeon; Park, Kang-Il; Ahn, Kyung-Jun; Park, Sung-Kee; Lee, Woong; Myoung, Jae-Min

2011-01-01

Applicability of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films for thin film solar cells (TFSCs) was investigated by preparing GZO films via pulsed dc magnetron sputtering (PDMS) with rotating target. The GZO films showed improved crystallinity and increasing degree of Ga doping with increasing thickness to a limit of 1000 nm. The films also fulfilled requirements for the transparent electrodes of TFSCs in terms of electrical and optical properties. Moreover, the films exhibited good texturing potential based on etching studies with diluted HCl, which yielded an improved light trapping capability without significant degradation in electrical propreties. It is therefore suggested that the surface-textured GZO films prepared via PDMS and etching are promising candidates for indium-free transparent electrodes for TFSCs.

Preparation of Ga-doped ZnO films by pulsed dc magnetron sputtering with cylindrical rotating target for thin film solar cell applications

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Beom-Ki; Lee, Tae-Il; Park, Ji-Hyeon; Park, Kang-Il; Ahn, Kyung-Jun; Park, Sung-Kee; Lee, Woong; Myoung, Jae-Min

2011-11-01

Applicability of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films for thin film solar cells (TFSCs) was investigated by preparing GZO films via pulsed dc magnetron sputtering (PDMS) with rotating target. The GZO films showed improved crystallinity and increasing degree of Ga doping with increasing thickness to a limit of 1000 nm. The films also fulfilled requirements for the transparent electrodes of TFSCs in terms of electrical and optical properties. Moreover, the films exhibited good texturing potential based on etching studies with diluted HCl, which yielded an improved light trapping capability without significant degradation in electrical propreties. It is therefore suggested that the surface-textured GZO films prepared via PDMS and etching are promising candidates for indium-free transparent electrodes for TFSCs.

The electrodeposition of multilayers on a polymeric substrate in flexible organic photovoltaic solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Guedes, Andre F. S.; Guedes, Vilmar P.; Souza, Monica L.; Tartari, Simone; Cunha, Idaulo J.

2015-09-01

Flexible organic photovoltaic solar cells have drawn intense attention due to their advantages over competing solar cell technologies. The method utilized to deposit as well as to integrate solutions and processed materials, manufacturing organic solar cells by the Electrodeposition System, has been presented in this research. In addition, we have demonstrated a successful integration of a process for manufacturing the flexible organic solar cell prototype and we have discussed on the factors that make this process possible. The maximum process temperature was 120°C, which corresponds to the baking of the active polymeric layer. Moreover, the new process of the Electrodeposition of complementary active layer is based on the application of voltage versus time in order to obtain a homogeneous layer with thin film. This thin film was not only obtained by the electrodeposition of PANI-X1 on P3HT/PCBM Blend, but also prepared in perchloric acid solution. Furthermore, these flexible organic photovoltaic solar cells presented power conversion efficiency of 12% and the inclusion of the PANI-X1 layer reduced the effects of degradation on these organic photovoltaic panels induced by solar irradiation. Thus, in the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), these studies have revealed that the surface of PANI-X1 layers is strongly conditioned by the dielectric surface morphology.

New diarylmethanofullerene derivatives and their properties for organic thin-film solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daisuke Sukeguchi

2009-02-01

Full Text Available A number of diarylmethanofullerene derivatives were synthesized. The cyclopropane ring of the derivatives has two aryl groups substituted with electron-withdrawing and -donating groups, the latter with long alkyl chains to improve solubility in organic solvents, an important property in processing cells. First reduction potentials of most derivatives were less negative than that of [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM, which is possibly ascribed to their electron-withdrawing nature. Organic thin-film photovoltaic cells fabricated with poly(3-hexylthiophene (P3HT as the electron-donor and diarylmethanofullerene derivatives as the electron-acceptor material were examined. The {(methoxycarbonylphenyl[bis(octyloxyphenyl]methano}fullerene showed power conversion efficiency as high as PCBM, but had higher solubility in a variety of organic solvents than PCBM. The Voc value was higher than that of PCBM, which is derived from the electron-donating (octyloxyphenyl group, possibly raising the LUMO level. Photovoltaic effects of the devices fabricated with the derivatives having some electron-withdrawing groups were also examined.

Passivation of Si(111) surfaces with electrochemically grafted thin organic films

Science.gov (United States)

Roodenko, K.; Yang, F.; Hunger, R.; Esser, N.; Hinrichs, K.; Rappich, J.

2010-09-01

Ultra thin organic films (about 5 nm thick) of nitrobenzene and 4-methoxydiphenylamine were deposited electrochemically on p-Si(111) surfaces from benzene diazonium compounds. Studies based on atomic force microscopy, infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that upon exposure to atmospheric conditions the oxidation of the silicon interface proceed slower on organically modified surfaces than on unmodified hydrogen passivated p-Si(111) surfaces. Effects of HF treatment on the oxidized organic/Si interface and on the organic layer itself are discussed.

Graphene oxide/carbon nanoparticle thin film based IR detector: Surface properties and device characterization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farzana Aktar Chowdhury

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This work deals with the synthesis, characterization, and application of carbon nanoparticles (CNP adorned graphene oxide (GO nanocomposite materials. Here we mainly focus on an emerging topic in modern research field presenting GO-CNP nanocomposite as a infrared (IR radiation detector device. GO-CNP thin film devices were fabricated from liquid phase at ambient condition where no modifying treatments were necessary. It works with no cooling treatment and also for stationary objects. A sharp response of human body IR radiation was detected with time constants of 3 and 36 sec and radiation responsivity was 3 mAW−1. The current also rises for quite a long time before saturation. This work discusses state-of-the-art material developing technique based on near-infrared photon absorption and their use in field deployable instrument for real-world applications. GO-CNP-based thin solid composite films also offer its potentiality to be utilized as p-type absorber material in thin film solar cell, as well.

Graphene oxide/carbon nanoparticle thin film based IR detector: Surface properties and device characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chowdhury, Farzana Aktar [Experimental Physics Division, Atomic Energy Centre, 4, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, Dhaka-1000 (Bangladesh); Hossain, Mohammad Abul [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 (Bangladesh); Uchida, Koji; Tamura, Takahiro; Sugawa, Kosuke; Mochida, Tomoaki; Otsuki, Joe [College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, 1-8-14 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8308 (Japan); Mohiuddin, Tariq [Department of Physics, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat (Oman); Boby, Monny Akter [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 (Bangladesh); Alam, Mohammad Sahabul, E-mail: msalam@ksu.edu.sa [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 (Bangladesh); Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering & King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia)

2015-10-15

This work deals with the synthesis, characterization, and application of carbon nanoparticles (CNP) adorned graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite materials. Here we mainly focus on an emerging topic in modern research field presenting GO-CNP nanocomposite as a infrared (IR) radiation detector device. GO-CNP thin film devices were fabricated from liquid phase at ambient condition where no modifying treatments were necessary. It works with no cooling treatment and also for stationary objects. A sharp response of human body IR radiation was detected with time constants of 3 and 36 sec and radiation responsivity was 3 mAW{sup −1}. The current also rises for quite a long time before saturation. This work discusses state-of-the-art material developing technique based on near-infrared photon absorption and their use in field deployable instrument for real-world applications. GO-CNP-based thin solid composite films also offer its potentiality to be utilized as p-type absorber material in thin film solar cell, as well.

Pair distribution functions of amorphous organic thin films from synchrotron X-ray scattering in transmission mode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chenyang Shi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Using high-brilliance high-energy synchrotron X-ray radiation, for the first time the total scattering of a thin organic glass film deposited on a strongly scattering inorganic substrate has been measured in transmission mode. The organic thin film was composed of the weakly scattering pharmaceutical substance indomethacin in the amorphous state. The film was 130 µm thick atop a borosilicate glass substrate of equal thickness. The atomic pair distribution function derived from the thin-film measurement is in excellent agreement with that from bulk measurements. This ability to measure the total scattering of amorphous organic thin films in transmission will enable accurate in situ structural studies for a wide range of materials.

Electrochemical deposition of molybdenum sulfide thin films on conductive plastic substrates as platinum-free flexible counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Chao-Kuang; Hsieh, Chien-Kuo, E-mail: jack_hsieh@mail.mcut.edu.tw

2015-06-01

In this study, pulsed electrochemical deposition (pulsed ECD) was used to deposit molybdenum sulfide (MoS{sub x}) thin films on indium tin oxide/polyethylene naphthalate (ITO/PEN) substrates as flexible counter electrodes (CEs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The surface morphologies and elemental distributions of the prepared MoS{sub x} thin films were examined using field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The chemical states and crystallinities of the prepared MoS{sub x} thin films were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The optical transmission (T (%)) properties of the prepared MoS{sub x} samples were determined by ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Tafel-polarization measurements were performed to analyze the electrochemical properties and catalytic activities of the thin films for redox reactions. The FE-SEM results showed that the MoS{sub x} thin films were deposited uniformly on the ITO/PEN flexible substrates via the pulsed ECD method. The CV and Tafel-polarization curve measurements demonstrated that the deposited MoS{sub x} thin films exhibited excellent performances for the reduction of triiodide ions. The photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of the DSSC produced with the pulsed ECD MoS{sub x} thin-film CE was examined by a solar simulator. In combination with a dye-sensitized TiO{sub 2} working electrode and an iodine-based electrolyte, the DSSC with the MoS{sub x} flexible CE showed a PCE of 4.39% under an illumination of AM 1.5 (100 mW cm{sup −2}). Thus, we report that the MoS{sub x} thin films are active catalysts for triiodide reduction. The MoS{sub x} thin films are prepared at room temperature and atmospheric pressure and in a simple and rapid manner. This is an important practical contribution to the production of flexible low-cost thin-film CEs based on plastic substrates. The MoS{sub x

A novel method to achieve selective emitter for silicon solar cell using low cost pattern-able a-Si thin films as the semi-transparent phosphorus diffusion barrier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Da Ming; Liang, Zong Cun; Zhuang, Lin; Lin, Yang Huan; Shen, Hui

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► a-Si thin films as semitransparent phosphorus diffusion barriers for solar cell. ► a-Si thin films on silicon wafers were patterned by the alkaline solution. ► Selective emitter was formed with patterned a-Si as diffusion barrier for solar cell. -- Abstract: Selective emitter for silicon solar cell was realized by employing a-Si thin films as the semi-transparent diffusion barrier. The a-Si thin films with various thicknesses (∼10–40 nm) were deposited by the electron-beam evaporation technique. Emitters with sheet resistances from 37 to 145 Ω/□ were obtained via POCl 3 diffusion process. The thickness of the a-Si diffusion barrier was optimized to be 15 nm for selective emitter in our work. Homemade mask which can dissolve in ethanol was screen-printed on a-Si film to make pattern. The a-Si film was then patterned in KOH solution to form finger-like design. Selective emitter was obtainable with one-step diffusion with patterned a-Si film on. Combinations of sheet resistances for the high-/low-level doped regions of 39.8/112.1, 36.2/88.8, 35.4/73.9 were obtained. These combinations are suitable for screen-printed solar cells. This preparation method of selective emitter based on a-Si diffusion barrier is a promising approach for low cost industrial manufacturing.

Investigation of sensitivity and selectivity of ZnO thin film to volatile organic compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Teimoori, F.; Khojier, K.; Dehnavi, N. Z.

2017-06-01

This research addresses a detailed study on the sensitivity and selectivity of ZnO thin film to volatile organic compound (VOC) vapors that can be used for the development of VOC sensors. The ZnO thin film of 100 nm thickness was prepared by post-annealing of e-beam evaporated Zn thin film. The sample was structurally, morphologically, and chemically characterized by X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy analyses. The sensitivity, selectivity, and detection limit of the sample were tested with respect to a wide range of common VOC vapors, including acetone, formaldehyde, acetic acid, formic acid, acetylene, toluene, benzene, ethanol, methanol, and isopropanol in the temperature range of 200-400 °C. The results show that the best sensitivity and detection limit of the sample are related to acetone vapor in the studied temperature range. The ZnO thin film-based acetone sensor also shows a good reproducibility and stability at the operating temperature of 280 °C.

Chemical Bath Deposition and Characterization of CdS layer for CZTS Thin Film Solar Cell

OpenAIRE

Kamal, Tasnim; Parvez, Sheikh; Matin, Rummana; Bashar, Mohammad Shahriar; Hossain, Tasnia; Sarwar, Hasan; Rashid, Mohammad Junaebur

2016-01-01

CZTS is a new type of an absorber and abundant materials for thin film solar cells (TFSC). Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is the n-type buffer layer of it with band gap of 2.42 eV. Cadmium sulfide (CdS) buffer layer of CZTS solar cell was deposited on soda-lime glass substrates by the Chemical Bath Deposition(CBD) method, using anhydrous Cadmium chloride(CdCl_2) and Thiourea (CS(NH_2)_2). Deposition of CdS using CBD is based on the slow release of Cd^ ions and S^ ions in an alkaline bath which is achi...

Thin films by metal-organic precursor plasma spray

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schulz, Douglas L.; Sailer, Robert A.; Payne, Scott; Leach, James; Molz, Ronald J.

2009-01-01

While most plasma spray routes to coatings utilize solids as the precursor feedstock, metal-organic precursor plasma spray (MOPPS) is an area that the authors have investigated recently as a novel route to thin film materials. Very thin films are possible via MOPPS and the technology offers the possibility of forming graded structures by metering the liquid feed. The current work employs metal-organic compounds that are liquids at standard temperature-pressure conditions. In addition, these complexes contain chemical functionality that allows straightforward thermolytic transformation to targeted phases of interest. Toward that end, aluminum 3,5-heptanedionate (Al(hd) 3 ), triethylsilane (HSi(C 2 H 5 ) 3 or HSiEt 3 ), and titanium tetrakisdiethylamide (Ti(N(C 2 H 5 ) 2 ) 4 or Ti(NEt 2 ) 4 ) were employed as precursors to aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, and titanium nitride, respectively. In all instances, the liquids contain metal-heteroatom bonds envisioned to provide atomic concentrations of the appropriate reagents at the film growth surface, thus promoting phase formation (e.g., Si-C bond in triethylsilane, Ti-N bond in titanium amide, etc.). Films were deposited using a Sulzer Metco TriplexPro-200 plasma spray system under various experimental conditions using design of experiment principles. Film compositions were analyzed by glazing incidence x-ray diffraction and elemental determination by x-ray spectroscopy. MOPPS films from HSiEt 3 showed the formation of SiC phase but Al(hd) 3 -derived films were amorphous. The Ti(NEt 2 ) 4 precursor gave MOPPS films that appear to consist of nanosized splats of TiOCN with spheres of TiO 2 anatase. While all films in this study suffered from poor adhesion, it is anticipated that the use of heated substrates will aid in the formation of dense, adherent films.

Epitaxial Oxide Thin Films Grown by Solid Source Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Zihong

1995-01-01

The conventional liquid source metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique is capable of producing large area, high quality, single crystal semiconductor films. However, the growth of complex oxide films by this method has been hampered by a lack of suitable source materials. While chemists have been actively searching for new source materials, the research work reported here has demonstrated the successful application of solid metal-organic sources (based on tetramethylheptanedionate) to the growth of high quality thin films of binary compound cerium dioxide (CeO_2), and two more complex materials, the ternary compound lithium niobate (LiNbO_3), with two cations, and the quaternary compound strontium barium niobate (SBN), with three cations. The growth of CeO_2 thin films on (1012)Al_2O_3 substrates has been used as a model to study the general growth behavior of oxides. Factors affecting deposition rate, surface morphology, out-of-plane mosaic structure, and film orientation have been carefully investigated. A kinetic model based on gas phase prereaction is proposed to account for the substrate temperature dependence of film orientation found in this system. Atomically smooth, single crystal quality cerium dioxide thin films have been obtained. Superconducting YBCO films sputtered on top of solid source MOCVD grown thin cerium dioxide buffer layers on sapphire have been shown to have physical properties as good as those of YBCO films grown on single crystal MgO substrates. The thin film growth of LiNbO_3 and Sr_{1-x}Ba _{x}Nb_2 O_6 (SBN) was more complex and challenging. Phase purity, transparency, in-plane orientation, and the ferroelectric polarity of LiNbO _3 films grown on sapphire substrates was investigated. The first optical quality, MOCVD grown LiNbO _3 films, having waveguiding losses of less than 2 dB/cm, were prepared. An important aspect of the SBN film growth studies involved finding a suitable single crystal substrate material. Mg

Quantifying resistances across nanoscale low- and high-angle interspherulite boundaries in solution-processed organic semiconductor thin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Stephanie S; Mativetsky, Jeffrey M; Loth, Marsha A; Anthony, John E; Loo, Yueh-Lin

2012-11-27

The nanoscale boundaries formed when neighboring spherulites impinge in polycrystalline, solution-processed organic semiconductor thin films act as bottlenecks to charge transport, significantly reducing organic thin-film transistor mobility in devices comprising spherulitic thin films as the active layers. These interspherulite boundaries (ISBs) are structurally complex, with varying angles of molecular orientation mismatch along their lengths. We have successfully engineered exclusively low- and exclusively high-angle ISBs to elucidate how the angle of molecular orientation mismatch at ISBs affects their resistivities in triethylsilylethynyl anthradithiophene thin films. Conductive AFM and four-probe measurements reveal that current flow is unaffected by the presence of low-angle ISBs, whereas current flow is significantly disrupted across high-angle ISBs. In the latter case, we estimate the resistivity to be 22 MΩμm(2)/width of the ISB, only less than a quarter of the resistivity measured across low-angle grain boundaries in thermally evaporated sexithiophene thin films. This discrepancy in resistivities across ISBs in solution-processed organic semiconductor thin films and grain boundaries in thermally evaporated organic semiconductor thin films likely arises from inherent differences in the nature of film formation in the respective systems.

Research on fabrication technology for thin film solar cells for practical use. Technological development for qualitative improvement (development of fabrication technology of thin film polycrystalline Si solar cell); Usumaku taiyo denchi seizo gijutsu no jitsuyoka kenkyu. Kohinshitsuka gijutsu (usumaku takessho silicon kei taiyo denchi seizo no gijutsu kaihatsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tatsuta, M [New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Tokyo (Japan)

1994-12-01

This paper reports the study results on the fabrication technology of thin film polycrystalline Si solar cells in fiscal 1994. (1) On the fabrication technology of high-quality Si thin films, the new equipment was studied which allows uniform stable melting recrystallization over a large area. The new equipment adopted a heating method based on RTP system, and is now under adjustment. (2) On the fabrication technology of light/carrier confinement structure, degradation of hydrogen-treated thin film Si solar cells by light irradiation was examined. As a result, since any characteristic degradation was not found even by long time light irradiation, the high quality of the cells was confirmed regardless of hydrogen-treatment. Fabrication of stable reproducible fine texture structure became possible by using fabrication technology of light confinement structure by texture treatment of cell surfaces. (3) On low-cost process technology, design by VEST process, estimation of cell characteristics by simulation, and characteristics of prototype cells were reported. 33 figs., 1 tab.

Radiation resistance of thin-film solar cells for space photovoltaic power

Science.gov (United States)

Woodyard, James R.; Landis, Geoffrey A.

1991-01-01

Copper indium diselenide, cadmium telluride, and amorphous silicon alloy solar cells have achieved noteworthy performance and are currently being studied for space power applications. Cadmium sulfide cells had been the subject of much effort but are no longer considered for space applications. A review is presented of what is known about the radiation degradation of thin film solar cells in space. Experimental cadmium telluride and amorphous silicon alloy cells are reviewed. Damage mechanisms and radiation induced defect generation and passivation in the amorphous silicon alloy cell are discussed in detail due to the greater amount of experimental data available.

4P-NPD ultra thin-films as efficient exciton blocking layers in DBP/C₇₀ based organic solar cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Patil, Bhushan Ramesh; Liu, Yiming; Qamar, Talha

2017-01-01

Exciton blocking effects from ultra thin layers of N,N'-di-1-naphthalenyl-N,N'-diphenyl [1,1':4',1'':4'',1'''-quaterphenyl]-4,4'''-diamine (4P-NPD) was investigated in small molecule based inverted Organic Solar Cells (OSCs) using Tetraphenyldibenzoperiflanthene (DBP) as the electron donor material...... and fullerene (C70) as the electron acceptor material. The short-circuit current density (Jsc) and PCE of the optimized OSCs with 0.7 nm thick 4P-NPD were approx. 16 % and 24 % higher, respectively, compared to reference devices without exciton blocking layers. Drift diffusion based device modeling...... was conducted to model the full Current density – Voltage (JV) characteristics and EQE spectrum of the OSCs, and photoluminescence measurements was conducted to investigate the exciton blocking effects with increasing thicknesses of the 4P-NPD layer. Importantly, coupled optical and electrical modeling studies...

Film stresses and electrode buckling in organic solar cells

KAUST Repository

Brand, Vitali; Levi, Kemal; McGehee, Michae D.; Dauskardt, Reinhold H.

2012-01-01

We investigate the film stresses that develop in the polymer films and metal electrodes of poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells. A compressive biaxial

Grain-size distributions and grain boundaries of chalcopyrite-type thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abou-Ras, D.; Schorr, S.; Schock, H.W.

2007-01-01

CuInSe 2 , CuGaSe 2 , Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 and CuInS 2 thin-film solar absorbers in completed solar cells were studied in cross section by means of electronbackscatter diffraction. From the data acquired, grain-size distributions were extracted, and also the most frequent grain boundaries were determined. The grain-size distributions of all chalcopyrite-type thin films studied can be described well by lognormal distribution functions. The most frequent grainboundary types in these thin films are 60 - left angle 221 right angle tet and 71 - left angle 110 right angle tet (near) Σ3 twin boundaries. These results can be related directly to the importance of {112} tet planes during the topotactical growth of chalcopyrite-type thin films. Based on energetic considerations, it is assumed that the most frequent twin boundaries exhibit a 180 - left angle 221 right angle tet constellation. (orig.)

Ultra-thin films of polysilsesquioxanes possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups as gate insulator for organic field-effect transistors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakahara, Yoshio; Kawa, Haruna [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University, 930 Sakae-dani, Wakayama 640-8510 (Japan); Yoshiki, Jun [Division of Information and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, 27-1 Mizumoto-cho, Muroran 050-8585 (Japan); Kumei, Maki; Yamamoto, Hiroyuki; Oi, Fumio [Konishi Chemical IND. Co., LTD., 3-4-77 Kozaika, Wakayama 641-0007 (Japan); Yamakado, Hideo [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University, 930 Sakae-dani, Wakayama 640-8510 (Japan); Fukuda, Hisashi [Division of Engineering for Composite Functions, Faculty of Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, 27-1 Mizumoto-cho, Muroran 050-8585 (Japan); Kimura, Keiichi, E-mail: kkimura@center.wakayama-u.ac.jp [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University, 930 Sakae-dani, Wakayama 640-8510 (Japan)

2012-10-01

Polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups as an organic moiety of the side chain were synthesized by sol-gel condensation copolymerization of the corresponding trialkoxysilanes. The ultra-thin PSQ film with a radical initiator and a cross-linking agent was prepared by a spin-coating method, and the film was cured integrally at low temperatures of less than 120 Degree-Sign C through two different kinds of polymeric reactions, which were radical polymerization of vinyl groups and sol-gel condensation polymerization of terminated silanol and alkoxy groups. The obtained PSQ film showed the almost perfect solubilization resistance to acetone, which is a good solvent of PSQ before polymerization. It became clear by atomic force microscopy observation that the surface of the PSQ film was very smooth at a nano-meter level. Furthermore, pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor (OFET) with the PSQ film as a gate insulator showed typical p-channel enhancement mode operation characteristics and therefore the ultra-thin PSQ film has the potential to be applicable for solution-processed OFET systems. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Polysilsesquioxanes (PSQs) possessing 3-methacryloxypropyl groups were synthesized. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The ultra-thin PSQ film could be cured at low temperatures of less than 120 Degree-Sign C. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The PSQ film showed the almost perfect solubilization resistance to organic solvent. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The surface of the PSQ film was very smooth at a nano-meter level. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Pentacene-based organic field-effect transistor with the PSQ film was fabricated.