Optical losses represent one of the primary obstacles to increasing the efficiency of silicon solar cells. The recommended solution to minimize optical losses is the use of plasmonic metal nanoparticles; however, they act as recombination centers within the solar cell construction, leading to a decrease in performance. The goal of this article is to introduce cobalt/graphene nanoparticles into the solar cell to minimize the optical losses. An ultra-thin film silicon PIN solar cell of dimensions (400 ×400 ×900) nm3 with ring metal contact shape was designed and numerically investigated using COMSOL Multiphysics software version 6.2 by the finite element method (FEM). Core/shell cobalt-graphene (Co/Gr) nanoparticles are periodically introduced into the cell between two layers (electron transport and active) in a ratio of 50:50 with an inter-spacing of a similar diameter. The Co/Gr parameters, number of nanoparticles (2, 4, 6), radius (10, 20, 30) nm, and shell thickness (1, 2, 4) nm were extensively studied. In addition, the arrangement of the core/shell nanoparticle material was considered. The results manifest the best performance of the proposed cell at 4 nanoparticles of 30 nm radius with 2 nm shell thickness for Co/Gr nanoparticles to get a maximum photocurrent of 26.28 mA/cm2. It is concluded that the optical losses of the Co/Gr core/shell nanoparticles embedded in an ultra-thin film silicon solar cell are significantly reduced owing to the increment in the absorption and hence the photocurrent. This enhancement opens a new avenue for further improvements.
... Show MoreBy using vacuum evaporation, thin films of the (CdS)0.75-(PbS)0.25 alloy have been deposited to form a nanocrystalline composite. Investigations were made into the morphology, electrical, optical and I-V characteristics of (CdS)0.75-(PbS)0.25 films asdeposited and after annealing at various temperatures. According to AFM measurements, the values of grain sizes rise as annealing temperatures rise, showing that the films' crystallinity has been increased through heat treatment. In addition, heat treatment results in an increase in surface roughness values, suggesting rougher films that could be employed in more applications. The prepared films have direct energy band gaps, and these band gaps increase with the increase in the degrees
... Show More
In this work, a novel design for the NiO/TiO2 heterojunction solar cells is presented. Highly-pure nanopowders prepared by dc reactive magnetron sputtering technique were used to form the heterojunctions. The electrical characteristics of the proposed design were compared to those of a conventional thin film heterojunction design prepared by the same technique. A higher efficiency of 300% was achieved by the proposed design. This attempt can be considered as the first to fabricate solar cells from highly-pure nanopowders of two different semiconductors.
The novel groups of organic chromophores containing triphenylamine (TPA) (ATP-I to ATP-IV) have been constructed by structural modification of electron donors with substitution biphenyl and bipyridine rings inserting a π-linkage. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent type of it (TD-DFT) have been operated to study results of donating ability of TPA and spacer on absorption, geometrical, photovoltaic, and energetic attributes of these sensitizers. Structural attributes have been revealed that incorporation of TPA, acceptor and π bridge include a perfect coplanar conformation in TPA-III. Based on frequency computations and ground-state optimization, bandgap (Eg) energy, ELUMO, EHOMO have been determined. For enlightening maximu
... Show More
(1)
(2)
(11)
(13)
(26)
(21)
In this work, we have investigated optical properties of the thermally evaporation PbS/CdS thin films. The optical constant such as (refractive index n, dielectric constant εi,r and Extinction coefficient κ) of the deposition films were obtained from the analysis of the experimental recorded transmittance spectral data. The optical band gap of PbS/CdS films is calculate from (αhυ)1/2 vs. photon energy curve.
The structural, optical properties of copper oxide thin films ( CuO) thin films which have been prepared by thermal oxidation with exist air once and oxygen another have been studied. Structural analysis results of Cu thin films demonstrate that the single phase of Cu with high a crystalline structure with a preferred orientation (111). X-ray diffraction results confirm the formation of pure (CuO) phase in both methods of preparation. The optical constant are investigated and calculated such as absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coefficient and the dielectric constants for the wavelengths in the range (300-1100) nm.
Thin a-:H films were grown successfully by fabrication of designated ingot followed by evaporation onto glass slides. A range of growth conditions, Ge contents, dopant concentration (Al and As), and substrate temperature, were employed. Stoichiometry of the thin films composition was confirmed using standard surface techniques. The structure of all films was amorphous. Film composition and deposition parameters were investigated for their bearing on film electrical and optical properties. More than one transport mechanism is indicated. It was observed that increasing substrate temperature, Ge contents, and dopant concentration lead to a decrease in the optical energy gap of those films. The role of the deposition conditions on value
... Show More
(3)
(1)
NiO0.99Cu0.01 films have been deposited using thermal evaporation
technique on glass substrates under vacuum 10-5mbar. The thickness
of the films was 220nm. The as -deposited films were annealed to
different annealing temperatures (373, 423, and 473) K under
vacuum 10-3mbar for 1 h. The structural properties of the films were
examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that no
clear diffraction peaks in the range 2θ= (20-50)o for the as deposited
films. On the other hand, by annealing the films to 423K in vacuum
for 1 h, a weak reflection peak attributable to cubic NiO was
detected. On heating the films at 473K for 1 h, this peak was
observed to be stronger. The most intense peak is at 2θ = 37
(1)