Direct Observation of Carrier Transportation Process in InGaAs/GaAs Multiple Quantum Wells Used for Solar Cells and Photodetectors

The resonant excitation is used to generate photo-excited carriers in quantum wells to observe the process of the carriers transportation by comparing the photoluminescence results between quantum wells with and without a p-n junction. It is observed directly in experiment that most of the photo-excited carriers in quantum wells with a p-n junction escape from quantum wells and form photoeurrent rather than relax to the ground state of the quantum wells. The photo absorption coei^cient of multiple quantum wells is also enhanced by a p-n junction. The results pave a novel way for solar cells and photodetectors making use of low-dimensional structure.

GaN As/InGaAs Superlattice Solar Cells with High N Content in the Barrier Grown by All Solid-State Molecular Beam Epitaxy

We demonstrate nearly i e V GaN0.03As0.97 /In0.09 Ga0.91As strain-compensated short-period superlattice solar cells by all solid-state molecular beam epitaxy. The optimal period thickness for the superlattice growth is achieved to realize high structural quality. Meanwhile, the annealing conditions are optimized to realize a pho- toluminescence （PL） at a low temperature. However, no PL signal is detected at room temperature, which could be reflected by a lower open-circuit voltage of the fabricated devices. The GaN0.03As0.97/In0.09Ga0.91As super- lattice solar cells show a reasonably-high short-circuit current density （Jsc） of over lOmA/cm2. Eurthermore, a concentration behavior is measured, which shows a linear relationship between Jsc and concentration ratios. The extrapolated ideality factor and saturated current density by the concentration action are in good agreement with that extracted by the dark case of the p-i-n diodes.

The p recombination layer in tunnel junctions for micromorph tandem solar cells

A new tunnel recombination junction is fabricated for n-i-p type micromorph tandem solar cells. We insert a thin heavily doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon （a-Si：H） p^＋ recombination layer between the n a-Si：H and the p hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon （nc-Si：H） layers to improve the performance of the n-i-p tandem solar cells. The effects of the boron doping gas ratio and the deposition time of the p-a-Si：H recombination layer on the tunnel recombination junctions have been investigated. The current-voltage characteristic of the tunnel recombination junction shows a nearly ohmic characteristic, and the resistance of the tunnel recombination junction can be as low as 1.5 Ω-cm^2 by using the optimized p-a-Si：H recombination layer. We obtain tandem solar cells with open circuit voltage Voc = 1.4 V, which is nearly the sum of the Vocs of the two corresponding single cells, indicating no Voc losses at the tunnel recombination junction.

Effect of rubrene:P3HT bilayer on photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells with electrodeposited ZnO nanorods

Improved photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells is demonstrated through the synergistic effect of electrodeposited ZnO nanorods and rubrene：P3HT bilayer as electron and hole-transporting layers,respectively. Highly crystalline ZnO nanorods were obtained by electrochemical deposition in a chloride medium. Additionally, rubrene interlayer was able to passivate or cover the grain boundaries of perovskite film effectively that led to reduced leakage current. A perovskite solar cell optimized with ZnO nanorods and rubrene：P3HT bilayer achieved a maximum efficiency of 4.9% showing reduced hysteresis behavior compared with the device having P3HT as the only hole-transporting layer. The application of longer nanorods led to better perovskite infiltration and shorter charge carrier path length. These results highlight the potential of electrodeposited ZnO nanorods and rubrene：P3HT bilayer as charge selective layers for efficient perovskite solar cells.

ITO Etched by Photolithography Used in the Fabrication of Flexible Organic Solar Cells with PET Substrates

In this study, the authors have shown the power conversion efficiency of flexible organic solar cells. The structure of the device is PET/ITO/PEDOT： PSS/P3HT： PCBM/AI. P3HT （poly-3-hexylthiophene）. It was used as an electron donor, PCBM （[6, 6]-phenyl C6 l-butyric acid methyl ester） as an electron acceptor and PEDOT： PSS used as a HIL （hole injection layer）. These materials were deposited by spin coating method on the flexible substrates. Photolithography method is used to etch ITO. The electrical parameters of the fabricated cells were investigated by means of J （V）, FF （fill factor）, the efficiency （r/）, photocurrent and IPCE measurement. It was observed that 45% of the absorbed photons are converted into current. The results obtained using etching technology by photolithography is better than that obtained in the clean room.

Improved performance of P3HT:PCBM solar cells by both anode modification and short-wavelength energy utilization using Tb(aca)_3phen

The performance of P3HT：PCBM solar cells was improved by anode modification using spin-coated Tb（aca）3phen ultrathin films. The modification of the Tb（aca）3phen ultrathin film between the indium tin oxide （ITO） anode and the PEDOT：PSS layer resulted in a maximum power conversion efficiency （PCE） of 2.99% compared to 2.66% for the reference device, which was due to the increase in the short-circuit current density （Jsc）. The PCE improvement could be attributed to the short-wavelength energy utilization and the optimized morphology of the active layers. Tb（aca）3phen with its strong down-conversion luminescence properties is suitable for the P3HT：PCBM blend active layer, and the absorption region of the ternary blend films is extended into the near ultraviolet region. Furthermore, the crystallization and the surface morphol- ogy of P3HT：PCBM films were improved with the Tb（aca）3phen ultrathin film. The ultraviolent-visible absorption spectra, atomic force microscope （AFM）, and X-ray diffraction （XRD） of the films were investigated. Both anode modification and short-wavelength energy utilization using Tb（aca）3phen in P3HT：PCBM solar cells led to about a 12% PCE increase.

Oriented Organization of Poly(3-Hexylthiophene)for Efficient and Stable Antimony Sulfide Solar Cells

Poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT),as a traditional organic hole-transporting material(HTM),is widely used in thin-film solar cells due to its high charge mobility and good thermal stability.However,the P3HT films obtained by the traditional method are amorphous,which is unfavorable to hole extraction and transport.Here,a low-toxicity solvent 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene(TMB)was used as the solvent instead of the commonly used halogen solvent chlorobenzene(CB)to dissolve P3HT.Thus,the self-assembled nanofibrous P3HT film was prepared and applied as HTM in the newly emerged Sb_(2)S_(3)solar cells.According to the density functional theory calculations,the interface contact between TMB-P3HT and Sb_(2)S_(3)was enhanced via the bonding interaction of S in P3HT and Sb in Sb_(2)S_(3).Through transient absorption spectroscopy characterization,the enhanced interface contact improves the charge extraction ability of TMB-P3HT when compared to the CB-P3HT film.Thus,the TMB-P3HT-based Sb_(2)S_(3)solar cell delivers a power conversion efficiency of 6.21%,which is 9.7%higher than that of the CB-P3HT-based device.Furthermore,the dopant-free TMB-P3HT-based Sb_(2)S_(3)devices exhibit excellent environmental stability compared with Spiro-OMeTAD-based devices.This work demonstrates that the application of P3HT and the solvent engineering of HTM are applicable strategies for developing Sb_(2)S_(3)solar cells with high efficiency and stability.

Fabrication and Characterization of PCBM:P3HT Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells Doped with Germanium Phthalocyanine or Germanium Naphthalocyanine

[6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester: poly (3-hexylthiophene) bulk heterojunction solar cells doped with germanium phthalocyanine or germanium naphthalocyanine were fabricated and characterized. Photovoltaic properties of the solar cells with inverted structures were investigated by optical absorption, current density-voltage characteristic and incident photon to current conversion efficiency. These germanium phthalocyanine and germanium naphthalocyanine blended as the third component absorbed light with wavelength longer than 700 nm. Morphology of solar cells was investigated by atomic force microscopy, and energy levels of the solar cells were discussed for power conversion efficiency.

Organic Solar Cells Flexible P3HT：PCBM Thin Film and Improving Its Performance

Organic solar cells （OSCs） is a new generation of solar cells have emerged as an alternative to conventional Si-based solar cells owing to their advantages of low cost, ease of fabrication and their potential for the manufacture of flexible and large area solar cells. So we chose that part to beginning study of the material and all parameters effects in environmental condition because the solar cell working in environment. In this study the fabrication of poly（3-hexylthiophene） （P3HT） and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester （PCBM） blend flexible thin film using spin coating was reported. Process parameters like solvent, electron donor to acceptor ratio, concentration and temperature were also studied. We used solvent systems to make active layer of P3HT：PCBM composite and PEDOT：PSS as a buffer layer. Highest absorption was obtained for the flexible thin film made with 1：1 and 1：0.75 ratio of P3HT to PCBM. Chloroform solvent in 40 gm/ml concentration at 90 ~C was the optimum conditions to make flexible device.

Electrochemical Characterization of Rapid Discharge Sintering (RDS) NiO Cathodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells of <i>p</i>-Type

Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films with thickness ranging in the interval 0.2 - 3.5 μm have been deposited onto conductive transparent substrate via the method of plasma-assisted rapid discharge sintering (RDS) with microwave heating starting from NiO nanoparticles with diameter 50 nm. The optical and electrochemical properties of the RDS NiO films in the pristine state were characterized in non aqueous electrolyte with the solvent 3-methoxy-propionitrile (3-MPN). Upon electrochemical cycling of NiO in 3-MPN we observed two characteristic oxidation peaks referring to the two nickel centred processes Ni(II)→Ni(III) and Ni(III)→Ni(IV), which are both localized prevalently on the surface of the metallic oxide. The oxide films prepared with the RDS method were also sensitized with different types of commercial dyes, either organometallic (N719, black dye) or organic (squaraine 2, erythrosine B), to compare the corresponding p-type dye-sensitized solar cells (p-DSCs). All dyes here employed matched the energies of their frontier orbitals with the upper edge of NiO valence band and the redox level of the triiodide/iodide couple. The comparison of the performances of the p-DSCs based on RDS NiO which differed exclusively for the nature of the sensitizer showed that the extent of electronic conjugation in the structure of the dye is crucial for the control of the photovoltaic performance of the corresponding p-DSC.

An Approach to Equivalent Circuit Modelling of Inverted Organic Solar Cells

A low temperature sol-gel process was used to fabricate zinc-oxide and yttrium-doped zinc oxide layers. These zinc-oxide and yttrium-doped ZnO films were used as electron transport layers in conjunction with P3HT and PC16BM type solar cells. It was demonstrated that annealing and doping of electron transport layer influenced the overall organic solar cells performance. Anneals of ~ 150?C provided the highest device performance. Compared to the undoped zinc oxide, the device with yttrium doped zinc oxide layers showed improved efficiency by about 30%. Furthermore an equivalent circuit was proposed to understand the connection between the electrical and optical characteristics of the device. Comparisons between the simulated and experimental current-voltage(I-V) curves displayed only a 1.2% variation between the curves. Clearly, our experimental and simulated studies provide new insight on the equivalent circuit models for inverted organic solar cells and further improvement on photovoltaic efficiency.

Silicon and III-V Solar Cells: From Modus Vivendi to Modus Operandi

In the present paper, some novel opportunities for the development of high-efficient Si and III-V-based solar cells are considered: energy-saving environment friendly low-temperature technology of forming p-n junctions in Si (1), elaboration of structurally perfect GaAs/Ge/Si epitaxial substrates (2) and application of protective antireflecting coatings based on cubic zirconia (3). As a result: 1) New technique of forming p-n junctions in silicon has been elaborated. The technique provided easy and comparatively cheap process of production of semiconductor devices such as solar cells. The essence of the technique under the study is comprised in formation p-n junctions in silicon by a change of conductivity in the bulk of the sample occurring as a result of redistribution of the impurities, which already exists in the sample before its processing by ions. It differs from the techniques of diffusion and ion doping where change of conductivity and formation of p-n junction in the sample occur as a result of introduction of atoms of the other dopants from the outside;2) The conditions for synthesis of GaAs/Ge/Si epitaxial substrates with a thin (200 nm) Ge buffer layer featured with (1 - 2) × 105 cm-2 density of the threading dislocation in the GaAs layer. Ge buffer was obtained by chemical vapor deposition with a hot wire and GaAs layer of 1 μm thick was grown by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Root mean square surface roughness of GaAs layers of the less than 1 nm and good photoluminescence properties along with their high uniformity were obtained;3) The conditions ensuring the synthesis of uniform functional (buffer, insulating and protective) fianite layers on Si and GaAs substrates by means of magnetron and electron-beam sputtering have been determined. Fianite films have been shown to be suitable for the use as an ideal anti-reflecting material with high protective and anticorrosive properties.

GaInP/GaAs/InGaAs倒装三结太阳电池设计与优化

为获得带隙组合对太阳光谱有效的分割利用，基于细致平衡原理，结合p-n结形成机理，应用Matlab语言对GaInP（1．90eV）／GaAs／InGaAs倒装结构电池体系底电池带隙和各子电池厚度进行模拟优化。结果表明底电池带隙为1．0eV时，光电转换效率最高。通过对GaInP（1．90eV）／GaAs（1．42eV）／InGaAs（1．0eV）倒装结构三结太阳电池各结厚度进行优化，综合考虑材料成本及生产技术等闪素，最佳厚度组合为1．35、2．83和3．19μm时，光电转换效率为44.4％，仅比最高转换效率低0．3％。

Effect of Valence Band Tail Width on the Open Circuit Voltage of P3HT:PCBM Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cell:AMPS-1D Simulation Study

The effect of the valence band tail width on the open circuit voltage of P3HT：PCBM bulk heterojunction solar cell is investigated by using the AMPS-1D computer program. An effective medium model with exponential valence and conduction band tail states is used to simulate the photovoltaic cell. The simulation result shows that the open circuit voltage depends Iinearly on the logarithm of the generation rate and the slope depends on the width of the valence band tail. The open circuit voltage decreases with the increasing width of the band tail. The dark and light ideality factors increase with the width of the valence band tail.

Improved performance of microcrystalline silicon solar cell with graded-band-gap silicon oxide buffer layer

Microcrystalline silicon（μc-Si：H） solar cell with graded band gap microcrystalline silicon oxide（μc-SiOx：H） buffer layer is prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and exhibits improved performance compared with the cell without it. The buffer layer moderates the band gap mismatch by reducing the barrier of the p/i interface, which promotes the nucleation of the i-layer and effectively eliminates the incubation layer, and then enhances the collection efficiency of the cell in the short wavelength region of the spectrum. The p/i interface defect density also decreases from 2.2 × 10^12cm^-2to 5.0 × 10^11cm^-2. This graded buffer layer allows to simplify the deposition process for the μc-Si：H solar cell application.

Hybrid solar cell based on polythiophene and GaN nanoparticles composite

Hybrid solar cells based on poly（3-hexylthiophene） （P3HT） and Galium nitride （GaN） nanoparticle bulk heterojunc- tion are fabricated and analyzed. The GaN nanocrystal is synthesized by means of a combination of sol-gel process with high temperature ammoniation using Ga（OCzH5） as a precursor. Their characteristics are determined by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. With the addition of GaN nanoparticle to P3HT, the device performance is greatly enhanced.

Characterization of Dye Sensitized Cells Using Natural Dye from Oil Bean Leaf (<i>Pentaclethra macrophylla</i>): The Effect of Dye pH on the Photoelectric Parameters

Fresh leaves of oil bean (P. macrophylla) were used as sensitizers for fabrication of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) at four dye pH values of 2.58°C at 23.7°C, 2.62°C at 22.2°C, 2.65°C at 22.3°C and 3.61°C at 22.1 °C. The methanol extracts of P. macrophylla were extracted and used as sensitizers for the development of dye sensitized solar cells. The solar cells sensitized by P. macrophylla leaf extracts realised up to short circuit current (Jsc) 0.16 mA/cm2, open circuit voltage (Voc) 0.045 V, Pmax 0.031 mW/ cm2 and fill factor (FF) 0.50. The energy conversion efficiency (η) of the DSSCs is 0.43%. Phytochemical screening of P. macrophylla leaf extract shows the presence of flavonoids and anthraquinones. The nanostructured dye shows conversion of solar energy into electricity using low cost natural dyes as wide band-gap semiconductor sensitizers in DSSCs. This will provide economically viable substitute to silicon p-n junction photovoltaic (PV).

Simulation analysis of a high efficiency GaInP/Si multijunction solar cell

The solar power conversion efficiency of a gallium indium phosphide(GaInP)/silicon(Si)tandem solar cell has been investigated by means of a physical device simulator considering both mechanically stacked and monolithic structures.In particular,to interconnect the bottom and top sub-cells of the monolithic tandem,a gallium arsenide(GaAs)-based tunnel-junction,i.e.GaAs(n+)/GaAs(p+),which assures a low electrical resistance and an optically low-loss connection,has been considered.The J–V characteristics of the single junction cells,monolithic tandem,and mechanically stacked structure have been calculated extracting the main photovoltaic parameters.An analysis of the tunnel-junction behaviour has been also developed.The mechanically stacked cell achieves an efficiency of 24.27%whereas the monolithic tandem reaches an efficiency of 31.11%under AM1.5 spectral conditions.External quantum efficiency simulations have evaluated the useful wavelength range.The results and discussion could be helpful in designing high efficiency monolithic multijunction GaInP/Si solar cells involving a thin GaAs(n+)/GaAs(p+)tunnel junction.

Equivalent Circuit Modification for Organic Solar Cells

In this work, a newly fabricated organic solar cell based on a composite of fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and regioregular poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with an added interfacial layer of AgOx in between the PEDOT:PSS layer and the ITO layer is investigated and an equivalent circuit model is proposed for the device. Incorporation of the AgOx interfacial layer shows an increase in fill factor (by 33%) and power conversion efficiency (by 28%). Moreover, proper correlation has been achieved between the experimental and simulated I-V plots. The simulation shows that device characteristics can be explained with accuracy by the proposed model.

AlO_x prepared by atomic layer deposition for high efficiency-type crystalline silicon solar cell

The influence of atomic layer deposition parameters on the negative charge density in AlOx film is investigated by the corona-charge measurement. Results show that the charge density can reach up to -1.56×10^12 cm%-2 when the thickness of the film is 2.4 nm. The influence of charge density on cell conversion efficiency is further simulated using solar cell analyzing software （PC1D）. With AlOx passivating the rear surface of the silicon, the cell efficiency of 20.66% can be obtained.