New Technologies & Materials
Mieke Van Bavel, imec
In the context of the European FP7 project MOLESOL, a novel type of thin film solar cell is proposed that exploits properties of both organic solar cells and dye-sensitized solar cells. A first step on the road toward this low-cost, easy-to-fabricate, stable and highly efficient solar cell is described.
This article has been restricted to registered FuturePV users. If you have an existing account, please log in. Otherwise, please register for a user account to view this article - REGISTRATION IS QUICK AND FREE.
Armin Aberle, CEO, Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), National University of Singapore
New technologies and materials, as well as novel concepts for PV energy conversion, are actively being investigated globally to further drive down the $/Wp cost of PV electricity generation. Following are two articles that fall into this category of R&D.
Wieteke D.A.M. de Boer, Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam
To overcome the current limit of photovoltaic conversion efficiency arising for Si-based solar cells due to the broad spectral range of the solar radiation, Si nanocrystals (Si NCs) can be implemented. These can “shape” the solar spectrum to the range more appropriate for conversion. In addition, Si NCs can also “cut” high-energy photons into multiple smaller ones and have potential to utilize low-energy photons that are generally lost in present-day solar devices.
This article has been restricted to registered FuturePV users. If you have an existing account, please log in. Otherwise, please register for a user account to view this article - REGISTRATION IS QUICK AND FREE.
Ong Kok Haw, IMRE
Lim Siew Lay, IMRE
Li Jun, IMRE
Chen Zhi Kuan, IMRE
Tang Weng Fai, Exploit Technologies
Producing electricity at less than $1/watt gets many people excited at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE).
Our team is addressing the challenge of achieving less than $1/watt power using organic photovoltaics in two aspects in the drive toward higher cell efficiency. The research group has set an ambitious target for itself: to increase cell efficiency from about 6 percent currently to 10 percent in the next year.
Jef Poortmans, Department Director Solar and Organic Technologies, imec
OPV − A slowly but steadily maturing contender
During the past decade, researchers have steadily improved the efficiency of organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. The consensus is that there is still much room for improvement, and that the threshold for widespread, commercial use will be reached in the coming years.
Benedikt Bläsi, Hubert Hauser, Christian Walk, Bernhard Michl, Volker Kübler, Andreas J. Wolf
Since micro- and nanostructures for photon management are of increasing importance in novel high-efficiency solar cell concepts, structuring techniques with up-scaling potential play a key role in their realization. Interference lithography and nanoimprint processes are presented as technologies for origination and replication of fine-tailored photonic structures on large areas. The combination of these processes is presented as a feasible route to generate high-efficiency honeycomb textures on multicrystalline silicon.
This article has been restricted to registered FuturePV users. If you have an existing account, please log in. Otherwise, please register for a user account to view this article - REGISTRATION IS QUICK AND FREE.
M.S. Lundstrom, Purdue University
Introduction
Computer modeling and simulation is used throughout the photovoltaic industry and in academic research. Examples range from first-principles materials simulation to device- and module-level simulation. Still, the impact of modeling and simulation in PV is a far cry from its impact in electronics where it transformed research, technology development, design and manufacturing. Today we are faced with the need for significant advancements in technology to make PV cost competitive. Toward this goal, a broad range of technologies is being explored to reduce manufacturing/development costs, and to improve efficiency as well as module lifetime. Is there an opportunity for modeling and simulation to play a much larger role in achieving these goals? In this article, we will describe some opportunities we see, discuss two examples that illustrate the promise, and describe a new industry-university research initiative that is designed to achieve these objectives.
This article has been restricted to registered FuturePV users. If you have an existing account, please log in. Otherwise, please register for a user account to view this article - REGISTRATION IS QUICK AND FREE.
Jef Poortmans, Department Director Solar and Organic Technologies, imec
Improving PV efficiency – looking through new eyes
In PV R&D, we are permanently looking for advanced and novel concepts that can speed up the path to higher efficiencies – concepts that will allow us to reach grid parity faster than if we follow the long and stable path of evolutionary improvement of existing technologies. An overwhelming concern for these new concepts is of course cost, because unlike in most semiconductor technologies, the cost of a new process or concept will determine its feasibility.
Jef Poortmans, Department Director Solar and Organic Technologies, imec
PV as a Gold Mine for Creative Engineers
In PV, as in other technologies, there are always creative minds that think out of the box and come up with new concepts and ideas. Those new ideas carry the seeds of exciting new developments and new paths of research, especially so when they are further developed by the industry into marketable products.
K.V. Ravi, Crystal Solar, Inc.
The trade-off between thick (~170 microns) silicon-based PV and thin (a few microns) film non-silicon and amorphous silicon PV is addressed by the development of single crystal silicon wafers of thicknesses of ~50 microns produced by epitaxy. This approach has the cost advantages of thin film technologies and the efficiency, reliability and non-toxicity of earth-abundant silicon PV.
