Atomic force microscopy study of FG-annealed and PECVD silicon nitride AR-coated silicon solar cells

Atomic force microscopy has been used to study the surface structure and roughness of PECVD silicon nitride coated silicon solar cells. The surface roughness increases in some areas of the solar cells after forming gas annealing. It may be one of the reasons for better light absorption on the surface of the solar cells resulting in better solar cell performance.     

常规单晶硅太阳电池在低倍聚光条件下应用研究

利用常规单晶硅光伏电池，在进行输出特性研究的基础上，设计研制出带有非对称复合抛物面聚光器的光伏发电系统。该系统利用聚光器的有效聚光比随季节的变化，使光电池上接收到的太阳辐射量全年相对均衡，结果不仅降低了发电成本而且可改善系统的可靠性。     

冷辐射板吸收太阳辐射的特性研究

为计算辐射空调系统中冷辐射板吸收太阳辐射能的大小及比例,在分析室内太阳光线传播的基础上,提出采用一种线性方程的方法.结果表明,以本文房间为例,冷辐射板吸收的太阳辐射能的大小以及比例在夏至日表现为正午最小,冷辐射板所吸收的太阳辐射能理论上最大能达到32 W/m2,吸收系数在0.13～0.28之间变化.冷辐射板所吸收的太阳...     

绒面类型对斜入射光下太阳电池发电能力影响的分析

太阳电池在发电运行时大部分时间处于不同斜入射辐照条件,然而太阳电池及其组件的输出功率参数都是在垂直入射辐照下测量并成为衡量其发电能力的标准。对不同类型绒面的太阳电池,用这样的标准来衡量比较其实际发电运行输出可能会产生出入。通过对金字塔型绒面的单晶硅太阳电池与球窝型绒面的多晶硅太阳电池在斜入射光照时的光反射情况和两种类型组件的实际发电情况进行理论分析和实验测量,得到以下结论：按照现行标准测量结果标称输出性能,多晶硅太阳电池的实际运行发电能力相对于单晶硅太阳电池而言被略为低估了,但低估程度小于3%。一般而言,各种减反射手段所优化的实际是垂直入射辐照条件下的发电输出结果,其实际运行发电效果增益并不如标准测量结果所显示的那么大。     

The effect of rear surface polishing to the performance of thin crystalline silicon solar cells

As the thickness of crystalline silicon solar cells decreases, light loss cannot be avoided due to the absorption limit in long wavelength light. Internal rear side reflection can be enhanced by polishing the rear surface. The rear polishing processes are performed before the texturing and before and after doping the emitter layer to optimize the solar cell fabrication process sequences. All cells made by rear surface polishing showed improved light trapping in long wavelength region (900-1100 nm) compared to that in the conventional cells. However, silicon solar cells fabricated by rear polishing before and after doping have similar (35.5 mA/cm²) or lower (35.26 mA/cm²) short circuit current density compared to the cells produced by the conventional process (35.59 mA/cm²) due to pore damage to the anti-reflection layer and the surface of the emitter layer during rear polishing. This surface damage was effectively prevented adapting the rear surface polishing before the front surface texturing, which led to increasing the current density from 35.59 to 36.29 mA/cm².     

A practical field study of various solar cells on their performance in Malaysia

A practical field study has been carried out with the intention to analyze and compare the performance of various types of commercially available solar panels under Malaysia's weather. Four different types of solar panels, such as mono-crystalline silicon, multi-crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon and copper–indium–diselenide (CIS) solar panels are used for the practical field study. A number of performance related parameters have been collected using data logger over a period of three consecutive days in the hope that this would give some initial information on the real performance of different solar panels. Results show that mono-crystalline silicon and multi-crystalline silicon solar module perform better when they are under hot sun, whereas the CIS and triple junction amorphous silicon solar panel perform better when it is cloudy and has diffused sunshine. Furthermore, the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar panel has been found to drop when the temperature rises higher. This phenomenon does not appear in the CIS and amorphous silicon solar panels, which shows that the performance of CIS and amorphous silicon solar cells are better in terms of power conversion efficiency and overall performance ratio. Better performance of thin film solar cells like amorphous silicon and CIS are observed from the initial results, which draws attention over the selection of solar panels and also may encourage the usage of these in tropical weather like Malaysia.     

Evaluation of a large dish‐type concentrator solar lighting system for underground car park

To utilize solar energy more efficiently and reduce lighting power consumption in underground public spaces such as car park, a large dish‐type concentrator solar lighting system is put forward along with its evaluation, which is a unique design to apply a laminated layer of beam split thin‐film coating and thin‐film solar cells onto the dish reflector. The collected sunlight is split into 2 parts, one being reflected into a fiber optical bundle and transmitted for daylighting, while the rest being absorbed by solar cells for electricity generation as the other way to replenish daylighting. A set of 4 solar lighting systems using 3.28‐m diameter dish are designed to meet the lighting requirement in a 1771‐m² underground car park. A mathematical model is adopted to calculate the output power and conversion efficiency of solar cells distributed on the parabolic dish surface. The indoor illuminance distribution is given by lighting simulation. The results indicate that the average daylight illuminance in the car park can vary between 62.7 and 284 lx on February 25, 2016 and between 62.7 and 353 lx on August 17, 2016 for 2 chosen days, respectively. For the presented design, the electricity produced by solar cells is just enough to power light‐emitting diodes for lighting meeting a criterion at night. Considering about 19% conversion efficiency of solar cells and the efficacy of 129.5 lm/W of light‐emitting diodes, the hybrid solar lighting system can have about 40% utilization ratio of solar energy, so it can be concluded that a sufficient lighting provision can be provided by the proposed large dish‐type concentrator solar lighting system for applications in underground car park.     

太阳能电池最大功率跟踪的线性近似法分析

对太阳能电池最大功率的跟踪方法——线性近似法进行了实验分析,考察单晶硅、多晶硅、非晶硅三种材料的太阳能电池最佳工作电压Um、最佳工作电流,Im和最大输出功率Pm随光照强度的变化情况.结果发现:对同一种太阳能电池,光照强度改变时,Um可以认为基本不变;Im和Pm与光照强度均呈线性关系.同一光照强度下,单晶硅电池最佳工作点...     

Efficiency enhancement of the poly-silicon solar cell using self-assembled dielectric nanoparticles

In this study, silica nanospheres dispersed in a surfactant solution were spin-coated on commercially available silicon solar cells to form colloidal crystals on the surface. This self-assembled nanoparticle layer served as an anti-reflection (AR) layer for solar cell devices. The self-assembled layer exhibits excellent anti-reflection properties in the UV and NIR wavelength regions, and the reflectance spectra match the theoretical prediction done using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis model. We also showed that the overall conversion efficiency of polycrystalline Si solar cells coated with the silica nanospheres was increased from 11% to 12.3% when using optimized spin-coating parameters and nanoparticle concentrations.     

High-efficiency inverted polymer solar cells with solution-processed metal oxides

The selection of carrier transporting layer in polymer solar cells is an important issue because the nature and direction of carrier transport can be manipulated by inserting different functional layers in the device structure. In this work, we report a very efficient inverted polymer solar cell (PSC) system based on regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) and a n-type acceptor, bis-indene[C₆₀]. With a pair of metal oxides and the insertion of TiO₂ nanorods electron collecting layer between the ZnO thin film and the active layer, the device efficiency can be greatly improved. The contact area between the active layer and the electron collecting layer, as well as the thickness of active layer, can be increased with the incorporation of TiO₂ nanorods. As a result, photocurrent can be enhanced due to more absorption of light and more charge separation interface. In addition, the larger contact area and the crystalline TiO₂ nanorods provide a more efficient transporting route for the carriers to the cathode. The most efficient device demonstrated shows a high power conversion efficiency of 5.6% with the inverted structure.     

Potential cost reduction of buried-contact solar cells through the use of titanium dioxide thin films

This paper explores the potential of applying titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin films to the buried-contact (BC) solar cell. The aim is to develop a lower-cost BC technology that can be applied to multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) wafers, the predominant substrate of the photovoltaics (PV) industry. The original BC solar cell used a thick, thermally grown, silicon dioxide (SiO₂) layer as the front surface dielectric coating. Upon commercialisation of the BC technology, BP Solar replaced this layer with silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), which exhibits improved optical properties. It is anticipated that production costs can be further reduced by using a low temperature deposited front surface dielectric coating, such as TiO₂, thereby reducing the number of lengthy high temperature processing steps, and developing a process such that it can be applied to mc-Si wafers. TiO₂ is chosen because of its optimal optical properties for glass-encapsulated silicon solar cells and familiarity of PV manufacturers with this material. The results presented resolve the issue of surface passivation with TiO₂ and demonstrate that TiO₂/SiO₂ stacks, achieved during a brief high-temperature oxidation process after TiO₂ thin film deposition, are compatible with high-efficiency solar cells. However, TiO₂ cannot perform all the necessary functions of the thick SiO₂ or Si₃N₄ layer, due to its inability to act as a phosphorus diffusion barrier. In light of these results, three alternate BC solar cell fabrication sequences are presented, and an initial conversion efficiency of 11.5% has been achieved from the first batch of solar cells in a non-optimised processes.     

Bifacial photovoltaic panels field

Bifacial solar cells may produce more output energy than mono-facial solar cells because both sides of the cell, front and rear, can absorb solar radiation. This occurs when the nearby ground or other artificial surfaces are highly reflective. A gain in output power of 5–20% has been reported in the literature for special applications. The present article deals with the calculation of the annual incident irradiation on a solar field comprising of bifacial photovoltaic panels deployed in multiple rows and separated by a distance between the rows. These types of fields are designed for large scale solar electricity production. The calculation of the annual incident irradiation is compared between two types of deployments: (a) bifacial photovoltaic panels installed with an optimal tilt angle facing south, (b) bifacial photovoltaic panels installed vertically and facing the east-west direction. The study shows that bifacial photovoltaic panels installed with an optimal tilt angle may produce 32% more energy than vertical bifacial photovoltaic panels, for the same environmental conditions. On the other hand, more vertical collectors can be installed in fields with the same field dimensions.     

Measurement and analysis of angular response of bare and encapsulated silicon solar cells

It is well known that electrical output parameters of photovoltaic solar cells and modules are dependent on the angle of incidence of the solar radiation. Angular effects can be described in brief as a reduction on the device output parameters when light impinges at angles diverging from the normal to the surface, affecting the accurate calibration of radiation sensors and introducing energy losses in photovoltaic conversion. This paper is focused on the measurement of the angular response of solar cells based on different silicon technologies, and on the analysis of the sources of deviation from the theoretical response, especially those due to the surface reflectance. As main contributions, the effects of encapsulation on the angular response of the modules are investigated by comparing bare and encapsulated cells, and analytical equations describing the angular behaviour of cells’ short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage and maximum power, including the reflectance of the structure, are derived.     

Process modeling and optimization of PECVD silicon nitride coated on silicon solar cell using neural networks

The process of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition silicon nitride films coated on silicon solar cells as antireflection layers is modeled and optimized using neural networks. This neural network model is built based on the robust design technique with process input–output experimental data. The input parameters selected are as substrate temperature, SiH₄ and NH₃ flow rates, and RF power; while the output parameters are deposition rate, refractive index, and short circuit current. This model can then be applied to predict the input–output relationships of the process. Optimal operating conditions of this process can be determined using this model.     

The use of oxynitrides for the fabrication of buried contact silicon solar cells

The formation of an oxynitride layer for use with solar cells has been demonstrated using simple equipment designed and assembled by the authors. The oxynitride has been successfully incorporated into the double sided buried contact silicon solar cells sequence, solving the fabrication difficulties associated with the use of an oxide masking layer. The output parameters, particularly the open-circuit voltage, are lower than those demonstrated by the use of a thick silicon dioxide film when working with conventional cell structures. This has been attributed to the inferior surface passivation qualities of the oxynitride. However, the oxynitride films are suitable for other devices like the multi-layer thin crystalline silicon buried contact structure [40].     

Monolithic series-interconnection for a thin film silicon solar cell

To raise the output voltage of silicon solar cells several solar cells on one wafer can be monolithically interconnected. A solar cell system consisting of 20 solar cells on a 2×2 cm² area has been produced on a 4” SOI-wafer with a 15 μm thick monocrystalline active layer. Under irradiation with an AM1.5G spectrum an open-circuit voltage of 7.5 V and current densities up to 17 mA/cm² for the system have been measured. An increase in performance is expected, when the doping and contact processing is better suited and a light trapping structure is realized for the solar cell system.     

Submerged photovoltaic solar panel: SP2

The behavior of a photovoltaic (PV) panel submerged in water is studied. A sizeable increase of electric power output is found for shallow water. Experiments have been carried out for single crystalline silicon panels. Results are discussed and the increase in efficiency is investigated and understood. Operating problems are analyzed and the advantages of using underwater solar panels are pointed out.     

Light induced degradation in nanocrystalline Si films and related solar cells: Role of crystalline fraction

Silicon thin films with different crystalline volume fractions have been deposited at different power and pressure conditions. Structural properties of the films have been investigated. The effects of crystalline volume fractions and grain sizes on the degradation of photoconductivity have been studied. Single-junction solar cells have been fabricated with protocrystalline and nanocrystalline Si as absorber layer. Protocrystalline silicon solar cells show less than 1% degradation upto 50 h of light soaking. Then the cells degrade upto 500 h and thereafter become steady. Nanocrystalline solar cells show degradation initially and become steady after 10 h of light soaking. Using protocrystalline silicon as absorber layer the solar cell efficiency degrades 9% before stabilization, whereas using nanocrystalline silicon as absorber layer (X_c～65%) the solar cell efficiency degrades 2.9%. Stabilized efficiency of the second type of cell is better than that of the first cell, but initial efficiency is higher for the first cell (η=7.1%).     

Effective solar power harnessing using a few novel solar tree designs and their performance assessment

Solar irradiance being considered as one of the most important alternative sources of energy can be harnessed in the form of electrical power using photovoltaic panels erected under the sun. Optimum conversion of power from solar panels can be obtained by using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), which involves continuously adjusting the angle of panels according to the change in the angle of falling irradiance. These trackers, however, use some amount of power for operation of MPPT equipment. Various techniques for arranging the solar panels in three dimensions have been suggested for optimizing the output power from them. The inspiration behind arranging the panels are often drawn from the natural trees where the branches and the leaves follow a particular pattern called phyllotaxy which is directly analogous to the Fibonacci number and Golden ratio. In this research work, the power output from two solar tree models based on 3/8 and 2/5 phyllotaxy pattern and solar conventional panel compared under similar irradiance conditions. There are so many phyllotaxy patterns like 1/3, 2/5, 3/8, etc. When the solar panels aligned in different phyllotaxies, then the orientation direction of solar panels are distinct. Each solar panel connected in solar trees is in a different direction, so that they received the maximum amount of sunlight throughout the day as compared to conventional panels which is oriented unidirectional.     

Optical characteristics of silicon solar cells and of coatings for temperature control

Silicon photovoltaic cells, which are widely used in space vehicles for the direct conversion of solar radiation into electric power, exhibit an undesirable decrease in power output with increase in cell temperature. This article discusses the control of cell temperature in terms of the absorptance and the emittance of solar radiation by the cell surface. Using measured values of spectral reflectance to 25 microns, these parameters are determined for uncovered cells and for cells provided with glass filters and with silicon oxide films.