• Energy Research

Abstract Currently, the first generation of silicon solar cells is dominating the photovoltaic market. Silicon cells are produced by various methods, which employ either crystalline or multi-crystalline substrates. However, both these manufacturing processes are expensive and potentially harmful to the environment and health. One example of this is that the surface is given its texture in a highly corrosive water solution of nitric and hydrofluoric acid. Additionally, both the diffusion and manufacturing of p-n junction and of metal contacts are associated with very high temperatures. This prompted us in our search for cheaper and more environmental friendly technologies. In this work, we discuss the possibility of producing components of photovoltaic cells by employing atomic layer deposition and hydrothermal technologies. This does not require the use of hazardous chemicals and high temperatures. The maximum efficiency of zinc oxide/silicon solar cells is 14% and 10% for textured and planar structures, respectively. A environmentally-friendly and simple procedure is thus being proposed, which, together with its relative efficiency, makes it an attractive alternative to the present procedure.

In the present study, we provide useful data related to one of the most promising materials in thin-film solar cell technologies: Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) kesterite structures. Sol-gel spin coating and chemical bath deposition methods were used to fabricate and further investigate Mo/CZTS/CdS/ZnO/AZO heterostructures. In order to examine the crystal structure of the samples, Raman scattering measurements using two excitation wavelengths (514.5 nm and 785 nm) were performed. Three Raman bands related to CZTS were found, as well as one that had its origin in CdS. By using laser ablation and performing Raman spectroscopy on these modified samples, it was shown that during the manufacturing process a MoS2 interlayer was formed between the CZTS and Mo layers. Our method proved that the CZTS layer in a multilayer device structure fabricated by solution-based methods can be decomposed, and thus a detailed analysis of the layer can be performed. Subsequently, current-voltage curves were investigated in terms of the essential electrical properties of glass/Mo/p-CZTS/n-CdS/ZnO/AZO junctions and occurring current transport mechanisms. Finally, AFM data were acquired to study the surface topography of the studied samples. The images showed that these surfaces had a uniform grain structure.

In this paper, cheap and efficient photovoltaic cells based on ZnO/Si heterostructure are discussed. These cells contain zinc oxide nanorods (ZnONR) grown by a low temperature hydrothermal method on a p-type silicon surface. The hydrothermal method applied in the present work uses cheap precursors and allows reproducible and controllable growth of 3D systems. As-grown ZnONR on Si surface are uniformly covered by a zinc oxide (ZnO) layer followed by an aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) layer. The latter is deposited on top of the cell as transparent conductive oxide (TCO). Both zinc oxide and aluminum doped zinc oxide layers are grown by a low temperature atomic layer deposition (LT ALD) method. Thickness of ZnO layers is optimized to increase significantly the light-trapping effect and thus the photovoltaic (PV) response. We evaluate impact of ZnO thickness on the PV devices operation. It is found that PV efficiency increases when thickness of the ZnO layer changes from 50 nm to 500 nm. The best response of solar cells is achieved for a sample containing ZnO layer with a thickness equal to 500 nm. The overall photovoltaic response is 10.9% and can be further improved by contact and Si layer optimization.

Abstract The plasmonic photovoltaic effect of mediation by surface plasmons in the harvesting of solar light energy in metallically surface-nanomodified photodiodes or solar cells is described in the microscopic manner. The experimentally observed increase in the efficiency of the photo-effect due to plasmons is explained by the competition between two opposing effects: that of the field concentration in plasmon oscillations and that of the admittance of indirect inter-band transitions in a semiconductor substrate induced by dipole coupling to plasmons at the nanoscale without translational invariance. The former effect favors larger metallic nanocomponents, whereas the latter effect prefers smaller nanocomponents. Both factors are quantitatively addressed within the quantum Fermi golden rule scheme, which allows for the size analysis of the plasmon effect and for its optimization. Experimental verification of the theoretical predictions is presented, including the demonstration of the proximity and size effect in double-layer photo-active substrate. The experiment reveals that the plasmon effect is still present if metallic nanoparticles are separated from substrate by the distance of order of 1 μm.

Abstract The theoretical approach towards improving the photovoltaic response of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunctions proposed by Knutsen et al. [Phys. Status Solidi A 210 (2013) 585–588] has been experimentally tested. AZO/n-Zn(1−x)MgxO layers were deposited at 160 °C on p-Si substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) with magnesium concentration in the 0–4 at% range. The examined devices showed a reduction of the conduction band offset from (0.63±0.03) eV to (0.48±0.03) eV. This decrease leads to a diminishing impact of recombination centers at the interface between zinc oxide based layers and silicon substrate, when the Mg content is below ~1.6 at%. In this range, the overall photovoltaic efficiency increased from ~3.7% to ~6.0%. As a next step, we tested solar cells with similar magnesium concentration in the Zn(1−x)MgxO layer, but deposited at 300 °C. Due to the higher deposition temperature, a further 1.1% increase in efficiency has been obtained. So far, this is the highest reported efficiency for a ZnO/Si heterojunction grown by ALD method, thus experimentally confirming the validity of the approache s here studied for raising the efficiency of heterojunctions solar cells based on n-ZnO/p-Si, while significantly reducing the fabrication complexity respect to conventional Si based devices as emphasized by Hussain et al. [Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 139 (2015) 95–100].

AbstractHalide perovskites have been studied very intensively by researchers during the last decade. Development of these materials has improved their unique optoelectrical properties reaching even higher standards, making them promising candidates for photovoltaic applications. It should be noted that most inorganic halide perovskites obtained to date have been synthesized using organic solvents in the form of nanosized colloids. Here, a low‐temperature synthesis protocol for the preparation of microcrystalline CsPbBr3 perovskite powder doped with Yb3+ ions is proposed. The structural and photoluminescence features of the studied material are thoroughly investigated and described. It turns out that the excitation of the CsPbBr3:Yb3+ perovskite with a 375 nm wavelength leads to spontaneous luminescence of excitons and Yb3+ ions. Hence, the use of CsPbBr3:Yb3+ as a luminescent thermometer or an additional absorbing layer on a solar cell surface is possible. The latter application may result in an increase in the conversion efficiency of the cell. In order to verify this, such a layer is prepared and installed on a commercial silicon solar cell. Its photovoltaic properties are investigated by measurements of the current–voltage characteristics with 1‐sun illumination and the spectral characteristics of the external quantum efficiency.

Abstract This paper shows an experimental attempt to approach plasmonic structure of silver nanoparticles (NPs) for photovoltaic application optimized previously for front side of thin film silicon solar cells. For that purpose the synthesis of high concentration of 100 and 140 nm Ag nanoparticles suspensions and layer-by-layer deposition method was applied. The results of electrical and optical studies of silicon solar cells with Ag nanoparticles as well as the microstructure of nanoparticles assemblies examined by SEM are presented. The results of these measurements are compared with theoretically predicted ones for optimized case and are the basis for further simulation analysis of the influence of the microstructure of actual nanoparticles assemblies. The simulations cover particles size distribution, the presence of agglomerates and arrangement. The results of these simulations show that the microstructure parameters decide on the plasmonic properties leading to the limited cell performance enhancement. Here we present more than 12% increase of short circuit current density and perspectives for further improvement. The outcomes of these studies have a general character and should be considered for optimization of other plasmonic structures used in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.