Global environmental concerns and the escalating demand for energy, coupled with steady progress in renewable energy technologies, are opening up new opportunities for utilization of renewable energy resources. Solar energy is the most abundant, inexhaustible and clean of all the renewable energy resources till date. The power from sun intercepted by the earth is about 1.8 × 1011 MW, which is many times larger than the present rate of all the energy consumption. Photovoltaic technology is one of the finest ways to harness the solar power. This paper reviews the photovoltaic technology, its power generating capability, the different existing light absorbing materials used, its environmental aspect coupled with a variety of its applications. The different existing performance and reliability evaluation models, sizing and control, grid connection and distribution have also been discussed. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A review of solar photovoltaic technologies

Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) have been studied extensively for over two decades for their novel electronic, photonic, thermal, electrochemical and mechanical properties. This comprehensive review article summarizes major advances in the synthesis, characterization, and application of these materials in the past decade. Developments in the understanding of the fundamental principles of "bottom-up" growth mechanisms are presented, with an emphasis on rational control of the morphology, stoichiometry, and crystal structure of the materials. This is followed by a discussion of the application of nanowires in i) electronic, ii) sensor, iii) photonic, iv) thermoelectric, v) photovoltaic, vi) photoelectrochemical, vii) battery, viii) mechanical, and ix) biological applications. Throughout the discussion, a detailed explanation of the unique properties associated with the one-dimensional nanowire geometry will be presented, and the benefits of these properties for the various applications will be highlighted. The review concludes with a brief perspective on future research directions, and remaining barriers which must be overcome for the successful commercial application of these technologies.

/pdf/25th-anniversary-article-semiconductor-nanowires-synthesis-4ccslz11ke.pdf

25th Anniversary Article: Semiconductor Nanowires – Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications

With a global market share of about 90%, crystalline silicon is by far the most important photovoltaic technology today. This article reviews the dynamic field of crystalline silicon photovoltaics from a device-engineering perspective. First, it discusses key factors responsible for the success of the classic dopant-diffused silicon homojunction solar cell. Next it analyzes two archetypal high-efficiency device architectures – the interdigitated back-contact silicon cell and the silicon heterojunction cell – both of which have demonstrated power conversion efficiencies greater than 25%. Last, it gives an up-to-date summary of promising recent pathways for further efficiency improvements and cost reduction employing novel carrier-selective passivating contact schemes, as well as tandem multi-junction architectures, in particular those that combine silicon absorbers with organic–inorganic perovskite materials.

/pdf/high-efficiency-crystalline-silicon-solar-cells-status-and-47y1w8zg6w.pdf

High-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells: status and perspectives

The reduction in electronic recombination losses by the passivation of silicon surfaces is a critical enabler for high-efficiency solar cells. In 2006, aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanolayers synthesized by atomic layer deposition (ALD) emerged as a novel solution for the passivation of p- and n-type crystalline Si (c-Si) surfaces. Today, high efficiencies have been realized by the implementation of ultrathin Al2O3 films in laboratory-type and industrial solar cells. This article reviews and summarizes recent work concerning Al2O3 thin films in the context of Si photovoltaics. Topics range from fundamental aspects related to material, interface, and passivation properties to synthesis methods and the implementation of the films in solar cells. Al2O3 uniquely features a combination of field-effect passivation by negative fixed charges, a low interface defect density, an adequate stability during processing, and the ability to use ultrathin films down to a few nanometers in thickness. Although various methods can be used to synthesize Al2O3, this review focuses on ALD—a new technology in the field of c-Si photovoltaics. The authors discuss how the unique features of ALD can be exploited for interface engineering and tailoring the properties of nanolayer surface passivation schemes while also addressing its compatibility with high-throughput manufacturing. The recent progress achieved in the field of surface passivation allows for higher efficiencies of industrial solar cells, which is critical for realizing lower-cost solar electricity in the near future.

/pdf/status-and-prospects-of-al2o3-based-surface-passivation-kquhly1a8k.pdf

Status and prospects of Al2O3-based surface passivation schemes for silicon solar cells

Al2O3 is a versatile high-κ dielectric that has excellent surface passivation properties on crystalline Si (c-Si), which are of vital importance for devices such as light emitting diodes and high-efficiency solar cells. We demonstrate both experimentally and by simulations that the surface passivation can be related to a satisfactory low interface defect density in combination with a strong field-effect passivation induced by a negative fixed charge density Qf of up to 1013 cm−2 present in the Al2O3 film at the interface with the underlying Si substrate. The negative polarity of Qf in Al2O3 is especially beneficial for the passivation of p-type c-Si as the bulk minority carriers are shielded from the c-Si surface. As the level of field-effect passivation is shown to scale with Qf2, the high Qf in Al2O3 tolerates a higher interface defect density on c-Si compared to alternative surface passivation schemes.

/pdf/on-the-c-si-surface-passivation-mechanism-by-the-negative-4z2pi0oo3h.pdf

On the c-Si surface passivation mechanism by the negative-charge-dielectric Al2O3

In this work chemical liquid deposition from sol–gel solutions has been used to obtain thin (Al2O3)x(B2O3)1 − x dielectric films. Passivation of Si surfaces using these films has been studied. Morphological properties of thin films deposited on polished Si surfaces have been investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique. Their chemical composition, structural and optical features have been analysed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV–VIS) spectroscopy. Results, obtained in this work, show that silicon surfaces can be effectively passivated by thin dielectric layers deposited from chemical solutions. The thin dielectric layers developed in his work, can be recommended as back side passivation coating for Si-based solar cells.

Effective surface passivation of Si surfaces by chemical deposition of (Al2O3)x(B2O3)1 − x thin layers

Two types of polymer solar cells with active layers of P3HT:PCBM and PCDTBT:PCBM in a standard configuration were deposited by spin-coating the polymer layers and sputtering the Ag back contacts. After encapsulation, they were subjected to post-deposition annealing and were studied by measuring their current-voltage characteristics and quantum efficiency spectra. Their stability was examined by exposing them to solar radiation in open-circuit conditions for several hours every day for a total of 80 hours. Their characteristics were measured regularly throughout this period. The performance of the two types of cells are compared and discussed.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/700/1/012053/pdf

Performance and stability of two types of bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells with sputtered back contacts

A critical goal for photovoltaic energy conversion is the development of high-efficiency, low cost photovoltaic structures which can reach the thermodynamic limit of solar energy conversion. New concepts aim to make better use of the solar spectrum than conventional single-gap cells currently do. In multijunction solar cells based on III-V heterostructures, better spectrum utilization is obtained by stacking several solar cells. These cells have achieved the highest efficiency among all other solar cells and have the theoretical potential to achieve efficiencies equivalent to or exceeding all other approaches. Record conversion efficiencies of 40.7 % (King, 2008) and 41,1 (Guter at al., 2009) under concentrated light for triplejunction allows hoping for practical realization of gianed values of efficiency in more multiplejunction structures. The expectations will be met , if suitable novel materials for intermediate cascades are found, and these materials are grown of an appropriate quality. Models indicate that higher efficiency would be obtained for 4-junction cells where 1.0 eV band gap cell is added in series to proven InGaP/GaAs/Ge triple-junction structures. Dilute nitride alloys such as GaInAsN, GaAsSbN provide a powerful tool for engineering the band gap and lattice constant of III-V alloys, due to their unique properties. They are promising novel materials for 4and 5-junction solar cells performance. They exhibit strong bowing parameters and hold great potential to extend the wavelength further to the infrared part of the spectrum. The incorporation of small quantity of nitrogen into GaAs causes a dramatic reduction of the band gap (Weyeres et al., 1992), but it also deteriorates the crystalline and optoelectronic properties of the dilute nitride materials, including reduction of the photoluminescence intensity and lifetime, reduction of electron mobility and increase in the background carrier concentration. Technologically, the incorporation probability of nitrogen in GaAs is very small and strongly depends on the growth conditions. GaAsNbased alloys and heterostructures are primarily grown by metaloorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) (Kurtz et all, 2000; Johnston et all, 2005)) and molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) (Kurtz et al. 2002; Krispin et al, 2002; Khan et al, 2007), but the material quality has been inferior to that of GaAs. A peak internal quantum efficiency of 70 % is obtained for the solar cells grown by MOCVD (Kurtz et al. 1999). Internal quantum values near to unit are reported for p-i-n

/pdf/dilute-nitride-gaasn-and-ingaasn-layers-grown-by-low-4x4ivx3iuu.pdf

Dilute Nitride GaAsN and InGaAsN Layers Grown by Low-Temperature Liquid-Phase Epitaxy

Low-cost single-junction GaAs solar cells on the base of p-AlGaAs/p-GaAs/ n-GaAs heterostructures grown by low-temperature liquid-phase epitaxy have been fabricated. For analyzing the factors contributing to solar cell efficiency the program products PC1D have been used. The optimal doping concentrations and thicknesses of the layers which correspond to the maximum values of the solar cell output parameters have been determined. The multilayer solar cell structure has been optimized on the base of this simulation. Low cost technological processes and masks, necessary for fabrication of the cells on the base of the grown heterostructures, have been developed, too. The front and back metallization of the cell is Ni/Al system deposited by magnetron sputtering. A double layer Al2O3 /ZrO2 antireflection coating is deposited on the front side of a solar cell structure by the spin coating technique. The conversion efficiencies of 19 % at one sun AM1.5 conditions have been measured.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/253/1/012044/pdf

Petko Vitanov

Papers

Effective surface passivation of Si surfaces by chemical deposition of (Al2O3)x(B2O3)1 − x thin layers

Performance and stability of two types of bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells with sputtered back contacts

Dilute Nitride GaAsN and InGaAsN Layers Grown by Low-Temperature Liquid-Phase Epitaxy

Solar cell technology on the base of III–V heterostructures

Microstructure and properties of CVD silicon nitride films