Effect of annealing on performance of PEDOT:PSS/n-GaN Schottky solar cells

We develop a heterojunction-based Schottky solar cell consisting of n-type GaN and PEDOT：PSS and also investigate the effect of annealing on the performance of the solar cell. The results show that the open circuit voltage （Voc） increases from 0.54 V to 0.56 V, 0.71 V and 0.82 eV while decreases to 0.69 eV after annealing at 100 ℃, 130 ℃, 160 ℃, and 200 ℃, respectively, which can be ascribed to the change of barrier height of PEDOT：PSS/GaN Schottky contact induced by variation of the work function of the PEDOT：PSS. Furthermore, the conductivity and surface roughness measurements of the PEDOT：PSS indicate that annealing can increase the grain size and improve the connectivity between PEDOT and PSS particles, and cause thermal degradation at the same time, which leads to the rise in short-circuit current density （ISC） up to 160 ℃ and the dropoff in ISC after annealing at 200 ℃.     

Effects of annealing rate and morphology of sol–gel derived ZnO on the performance of inverted polymer solar cells

The effects of annealing rate and morphology of sol–gel derived zinc oxide(ZnO)thin films on the performance of inverted polymer solar cells(IPSCs)are investigated.ZnO films with different morphologies are prepared at different annealing rates and used as the electron transport layers in IPSCs.The undulating morphologies of ZnO films fabricated at annealing rates of 10 C/min and 3 C/min each possess a rougher surface than that of the ZnO film fabricated at a fast annealing rate of 50 C/min.The ZnO films are characterized by atomic force microscopy(AFM),optical transmittance measurements,and simulation.The results indicate that the ZnO film formed at 3 C/min possesses a good-quality contact area with the active layer.Combined with a moderate light-scattering,the resulting device shows a 16%improvement in power conversion efficiency compared with that of the rapidly annealed ZnO film device.     

MoO3/Ag/AI/ZnO intermediate layer for inverted tandem polymer solar cells

We report an MoO3/Ag/Al/ZnO intermediate layer connecting two identical bulk heterojunction subcells with a poly（3-hexylthiophene） and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester （P3HT and PCBM） active layer for inverted tan- dem polymer solar cells. The highly transparent intermediate layer with an optimized thickness realizes an Ohmic contact between the two subcells for effective charge extraction and recombination. A maximum power conversion efficiency of 3.76% is obtained for the tandem cell under 100 mW/cm2 illumination, which is larger than that of a single cell （3.15%）. The open-circuit voltage of the tandem cell （1.18 V） approaches double that of the single cell （0.61 V）.     

Realization of Tip Tilting By 8-Step Line Tilting

By direct calculation of rotation matrices of SO（3）, we show how certain specific sequence of eight consecutive rotations of digital angles can yield a tilting of a facet mirror. We also design a detailed program specifically to tilt an array of mirrors from planar orientation to the required focusing orientation. We describe how to use the 8-step to realize the focusing of the mirror array. We have found, in our designed program, an important feature of row-sharing during the rotations for the columns and similarly the column-sharing during the rotations for the row. This feature can save a lot of operating time during the actual realization of the mechanical movements.     

Dye-sensitized solar cells: Atomic scale investigation of interface structure and dynamics

Recent progress in dye-sensitized solar cells(DSC) research is reviewed, focusing on atomic-scale investigations of the interface electronic structures and dynamical processes, including the structure of dye adsorption onto TiO2, ultrafast electron injection, hot-electron injection, multiple-exciton generation, and electron–hole recombination. Advanced experimental techniques and theoretical approaches are briefly summarized, and then progressive achievements in photovoltaic device optimization based on insights from atomic scale investigations are introduced. Finally, some challenges and opportunities for further improvement of dye solar cells are presented.     

Reduction of the phosphorus contamination for plasma deposition of p-i-n microcrystalline silicon solar cells in a single chamber

This paper investigates several pretreatment techniques used to reduce the phosphorus contamination between solar cells. They include hydrogen plasma pretreatment, deposition of a p-type doped layer, i-a-Si:H or μc-Si:H covering layer between solar cells. Their effectiveness for the pretreatment is evaluated by means of phosphorus concentration in films, the dark conductivity of p-layer properties and cell performance.     

AlOx 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.     

Performance improvement cells using bathocuproine of MEH-PPV：PCBM solar and bathophenanthroline as the buffer layers

In this work, bathocuproine （BCP） and bathophenanthroline （Bphen）, commonly used in small-molecule organic solar cells （OSCs）, are adopted as the buffer layers to improve the performance of the polymer solar cells （PSCs） based on poly（2-methoxy-5-（2-ethylhexyloxy）-1,4-phenylenevinylene） （MEH-PPV）： [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester （PCBM） bulk heterojunction. By inserting BCP or Bphen between the active layer and the top cathode, all the performance parameters are dramatically improved. The power conversion efficiency is increased by about 70% and 120% with 5-am BCP and 12-nm Bphen layers, respectively, when compared with that of the devices without any buffer layer. The performance enhancement is attributed to BCP or Bphen （i） increasing the optical field, and hence the absorption in the active layer, （ii） effectively blocking the excitons generated in MEH-PPV from quenching at organic/aluminum （Al） interface due to the large band-gap of BCP or Bphen, which results in a significant reduction in series resistance （Rs）, and （iii） preventing damage to the active layer during the metal deposition. Compared with the traditional device using LiF as the buffer layer, the BCP-based devices show a comparable efficiency, while the Bphen-based devices show a much larger efficiency. This is due to the higher electron mobility in Bphen than that in BCP, which facilitates the electron transport and extraction through the buffer layer to the cathode.     

Thermal modeling optimization and experimental validation for a single, concentrator solar cell system with a heat sink

A single concentrator solar cell model with a heat sink is established to simulate the thermal performance of the system by varying the number, height, and thickness of fins, the base thickness and thermal resistance of the thermal conductive adhesive. Influence disciplines of those parameters on temperatures of the solar cell and heat sink are obtained. With optimized number, height and thickness of fins, and the thickness values of base of 8, 1.4 cm, 1.5 mm, and 2 mm, the lowest temperatures of the solar cell and heat sink are 41.7℃ and 36.3℃ respectively. A concentrator solar cell prototype with a heat sink fabricated based on the simulation optimized structure is built. Outdoor temperatures of the prototype are tested. Temperatures of the solar cell and heat sink are stabilized with time continuing at about 37℃-38℃ and 35℃-36℃ respectively, slightly lower than the simulation results because of effects of the wind and cloud. Thus the simulation model enables to predict the thermal performance of the system, and the simulation results can be a reference for designing heat sinks in the field of single concentrator solar cells.     

Realization of conformal doping on multicrystalline silicon solar cells and black silicon solar cells by plasma immersion ion implantation

Emitted multi-crystalline silicon and black silicon solar cells are conformal doped by ion implantation using the plasma immersion ion implantation （PⅢ） technique. The non-uniformity of emitter doping is lower than 5 %. The secondary ion mass spectrometer profile indicates that the PⅢ technique obtained 100-rim shallow emitter and the emitter depth could be impelled by furnace annealing to 220 nm and 330 nm at 850 ℃ with one and two hours, respectively. Furnace annealing at 850 ℃ could effectively electrically activate the dopants in the silicon. The efficiency of the black silicon solar cell is 14.84% higher than that of the mc-silicon solar cell due to more incident light being absorbed.     

β-FeSi2 as the bottom absorber of triple-junction thin-film solar cells: A numerical study

Using β-FeSi2 as the bottom absorber of triple-junction thin-film solar cells is investigated by a numerical method for widening the long-wave spectral response. The presented results show that the β-FeSi2 subcell can contribute 0.273 V of open-circuit voltage to the a-Si/μc-Si/β-FeSi2 triple-junction thin-film solar cell. The optimized absorber thicknesses for a- Si, μ-Si, and/3-FeSi2 subcells are 260 nm, 900 nm, and 40 nm, respectively. In addition, the temperature coefficient of the conversion efficiency of the a-Si/μc-Si//3-FeSi2 cell is -0.308 %/K, whose absolute value is only greater than that of the a-Si subcell. This result indicates that the a-Si/μc-Si/β-FeSi2 triple-junction solar cell has a good temperature coefficient. As a result, using β-FeSi2 as the bottom absorber can improve the thin-film solar cell performance, and the a-Si/μc-Si/β-FeSi2 triple-junction solar cell is a promising structure configuration for improving the solar cell efficiency.     

Electron beam evaporation deposition of cadmium sulphide and cadmium telluride thin films： Solar cell applications7

Cadmium sulphide （CdS） and cadmium telluride （CdTe） thin films are deposited by electron beam evaporation. Atomic force microscopy （AFM） reveals that the root mean square （RMS） roughness values of the CdS films increase as substrate temperature increases. The optical band gap values of CdS films increase slightly with the increase in the substrate temperature, in a range of 2.42-2.48 eV. The result of Hall effect measurement suggests that the carrier concentration decreases as the substrate temperature increases, making the resistivity of the CdS films increase. CdTe films annealed at 300 ℃ show that their lowest transmittances are due to their largest packing densities. The electrical characteristics of CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells are investigated in dark conditions and under illumination. Typical rectifying and photovoltaic properties are obtained.     

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 morphology 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.     

Solvent effects on the S0→S2 absorption spectra of β-carotene

Absorption spectra of β-carotene in 31 solvents are measured in ambient conditions. Solvent effects on the 0-0 band energy, the bandwidth, and the transition moment of the S 0 → S 2 transition are analysed. The discrepancies between published results of the solvent effects on the 0-0 band energy are explained by taking into account microscopic solute-solvent interactions. The contributions of polarity and polarizability of solvents to 0-0 band energy and bandwidth are quantitatively distinguished. The 0-0 transition energy of the S 2 state at the gas phase is predicted to locate between 23000 and 23600 cm-1 .     

In-situ growth of a CdS window layer by vacuum thermal evaporation for CIGS thin film solar cell applications

Highly crystalline and transparent CdS films are grown by utilizing the vacuum thermal evaporation （VTE） method. The structural, surface morphological, and optical properties of the films are studied and compared with those prepared by chemical bath deposition （CBD）. It is found that the films deposited at a high substrate temperature （200 ℃） have a preferential orientation along （002） which is consistent with CBD-grown films. Absorption spectra reveal that the films are highly transparent and the optical band gap values are found to be in a range of 2.44 eV-2.56 eV. Culnl_xGaxSe2 （CIGS） solar cells with in-situ VTE-grown CdS films exhibit higher values of Voc together with smaller values of Jsc than those from CBD. Eventually the conversion efficiency and fill factor become slightly better than those from the CBD method. Our work suggests that the in-situ thermal evaporation method can be a competitive alternative to the CBD method, particularly in the physical- and vacuum-based CIGS technology.     

Design consideration and fabrication of 1.2-kV 4H-SiC trenched-and-implanted vertical junction field-effect transistors

We present the design consideration and fabrication of 4H-SiC trenched-and-implanted vertical junction field-effect transistors （TI-VJFETs）. Different design factors, including channel width, channel doping, and mesa height, are con- sidered and evaluated by numerical simulations. Based on the simulation result, normally-on and normally-off devices are fabricated. The fabricated device has a 12 μm thick drift layer with 8 × 10^15 cm^-3 N-type doping and 2.6 μm channel length. The normally-on device shows a 1.2 kV blocking capability with a minimum on-state resistance of 2.33 mΩ.cm2, while the normally-off device shows an on-state resistance of 3.85 mΩ.cm2. Both the on-state and the blocking performances of the device are close to the state-of-the-art values in this voltage range.     

Numerical simulation of a triple-junction thin-film solar cell based on μc-Si_(1-x)Ge_x :H

In this paper, a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/μc-SiGe:H triple-junction solar cell structure is proposed. By the analyses of microelectronic and photonic structures (AMPS-1D) and our TRJ-F/TRJ-M/TRJ-B tunneling-recombination junction (TRJ) model, the most preferably combined bandgap for this structure is found to be 1.85 eV/1.50 eV/1.0 eV. Using more realistic material properties, optimized thickness combination is investigated. Along this direction, a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/μc-SiGe:H triple cell with an initial efficiency of 12.09% (Voc = 2.03 V, FF = 0.69, Jsc = 8.63 mA/cm2 , area = 1 cm2 ) is achieved in our laboratory.     

High-voltage SOI lateral MOSFET with a dual vertical field plate

A new silicon-on-insulator(SOI)power lateral MOSFET with a dual vertical field plate(VFP)in the oxide trench is proposed.The dual VFP modulates the distribution of the electric field in the drift region,which enhances the internal field of the drift region and increases the drift doping concentration of the drift region,resulting in remarkable improvements in breakdown voltage(BV)and specific on-resistance(Ron,sp).The mechanism of the VFP is analyzed and the characteristics of BV and Ron,spare discussed.It is shown that the BV of the proposed device increases from 389 V of the conventional device to 589 V,and the Ron,sp decreases from 366 m·cm2to 110 m·cm2.     

Non-Gaussian Phase Screen Based on log-Poisson Distribution and Effect on Imaging

Gaussian models without intermittency are extensively used in estimating the effect of turbulence, but it also brings some puzzles, for example the observed pulse shape that disagrees with the result of the standard theory of interstellar scintillations. Indeed the property of intermittency is inherent in turbulence, i.e., all the quantities that characterize it suffer from strong fluctuations. So it is necessary to consider turbulent intermittency in many applications. In this paper we propose a non-Gaussian phase screen, which obeys log-Poisson statistics, and also offers the corresponding point spread function （PSF）. These results describe that intermittency leads to the more extent and different directional distribution of PSF. Theoretical analysis is made under the hypothesis of the phase difference satisfying log-Poisson statistics, and the average point spread function, which accord qualitatively with the result of the above generated phase screen, is derived.