• Energy Research
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• physical sciences close
• 7. Clean energy close

Silicon carbide/silicon rich carbide multilayers, aimed at the formation of silicon nanodots for photovoltaic applications, have been studied. The electrical properties have been investigated at the nano-scale by conductive Atomic Force Microscopy (c-AFM) and at macro-scale by temperature dependent conductivity measurements. The mixture is composed of highly conductive Si nanoclusters and moderately conductive SiC nanoclusters in a disordered matrix. The conduction mechanism takes place via band states induced by the disorder at the interface between nanodot clusters. Structural properties have been extracted by optical spectroscopy analyses. The results contribute to the understanding of the microscopical electronic mechanisms of the composite material, which is a candidate for third generation photovoltaics.

Self-organizing nanopatterns can enable economically competitive, industrially applicable light-harvesting platforms for thin-film solar cells. In this work, we present transparent solar cell substrates having quasiperiodic uniaxial nanowrinkle patterns with high optical haze values. The self-organized nanowrinkle template is created by controlled heat-shrinking of metal-deposited pre-stretched polystyrene sheets. A scalable UV nanoimprinting method is used to transfer the nanopatterns to glass substrates on which single-junction hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells are subsequently fabricated. The structural and optical analyses of the solar cell show that the nanowrinkle pattern is replicated throughout the solar cell structure leading to enhanced absorption of light. The efficient broadband light-trapping in the nanowrinkle solar cells results in very high 18.2 mA/cm2 short-circuit current density and 9.5% energy-conversion efficiency, which respectively are 35.8% and 39.7% higher than the values obtained in flat-substrate solar cells. The cost- and time-efficient technique introduces a promising new approach to customizable light-management strategies in thin-film solar cells.

One of the biggest challenges in converting wave energy is to enable the use of low frequency waves, since the highest waves in typical sea states have low frequencies, as can be seen from the corresponding wave spectra, such as the Pierson–Moskowitz or JONSWAP spectra. In this paper, we show that this challenge is indeed achievable for the operation of small autonomous drifting sensor platforms. We present the design and optimization of a compact wave energy converter that freely floats in random sea waves. An optimization of the dynamical behavior as well as the electromagnetic power take-off is conducted based on simulations and experiments. The platform has compact dimensions of 50 cm draft and 50 cm diameter, which leads to special requirements for size and appearance. To meet these requirements, a two-body self-reacting point absorber is designed and a flux switching permanent magnet linear machine is developed for the power take-off. The developed system is validated by experiments in a wave flume and the linear generator is analyzed on a test bench. A coupled model is used to simulate and optimize the corresponding mechanical system, which leads to an increased output power from below 10 mW for the simulated initial setup to a power output of more than 100 mW in the simulation. Simulations and experiments are performed for regular and random waves in order to provide realistic approximations of the total output power.