Analysis of illumination-intensity-dependent j–V characteristics of ZnO/CdS/CuGaSe2 single crystal solar cells

Current–voltage characteristics of ZnO/CdS/CuGaSe₂ single crystal solar cells measured at room temperature are investigated depending on illumination intensity. The characteristics can be described using the two-diode model, indicating two current transport mechanisms acting in the cells. The first and dominant mechanism is recombination of carriers at the interface between CdS and CuGaSe₂. The second one is recombination in the depletion region, which has been found to have a small effect on the solar cell photovoltaic performance. Both the diode ideality factor and the saturation current density of the dominant diode increase under illumination. A model based on interface recombination can explain these results. This model allows the estimation of diffusion voltage, capture cross-section of holes at the interface and mobility of electrons in the CdS layer.     

Application of solar thermal desorption to remediation of mercury-contaminated soils

Solar thermal desorption at temperatures up to 500 °C is an innovative technology applied to the removal of mercury and arsenic from soil polluted by mining operations. As the soil is heated in a low and high-temperature solar system, the pollutant vapor pressure rises, producing mass transfer to the gas phase, which is then extracted by vacuum pumps and blower systems.In the UPC low-temperature experiments, removal of mercury from the polluted soil was as much as 76%. The experimental results show that volatilization of mercury is only significant when the temperature is above approximately 130 °C, which agrees with the predominant mercury solid phases detected. PSA middle-temperature experiments, showed that when soil and mine waste samples were heated to 400-500 °C, mercury elimination was significant (41.3-87%). However, the results from heating to 320 °C or below 300 °C, indicated little or negligible removal, possibly, because the fluid dynamics in the fluidized-bed module and the presence of cinnabar and pyrite rich-Hg as dominant mineral phases.These results show the potential for efficiently removing mercury and other pollutants from solid matrices (soil, waste, etc.) at low temperatures.     

A review of solar dryers developed for grape drying

This paper attempts to review various solar dryers developed exclusively for grape drying on a normal scale. Many popular varieties of solar dryers, certain typical models as well as traditional methods practiced for drying grapes are presented in this paper. Technical and economical results have proved that solar drying of grapes is quite feasible. Commercialization of solar drying of grapes has not gained momentum as expected, may be due to high initial investment and low capacity of the dryers. Even, the farmer’s acceptance of solar dryers developed is not encouraging. Exhaustive research and development work has to be carried out in order to make solar drying of grapes economical and user friendly. There has been a remarkable achievement in solar drying of grapes due to sustained research and development associated with the adoption of advanced technologies. A review of various solar drying models for grapes is thus necessitated.     

RECENT ADVANCES IN SOLAR IRRADIANCE MONITORING DEVICES AND CALIBRATION METHODS

Within the concerted actions of the Commission's PV Pilot Plant R&D Programme a study was undertaken to determine and validate a cost-effective on-site calibration method for silicon solar sensors used in PV plants and to identify a reliable sensor design with a stable lifetime comparable to that of the modules

This paper summarizes 1) the present state-of-the-art devices used for monitoring solar irradiance mostly by the PV community, 2) practices employed by device suppliers, and users in calibrating such devices, and 3) preliminary results of concerted action studies being carried out by several test centres in Europe regarding the use of Si-based devices and their calibration methods

Our preliminary observations are that 1) the simplified calibration method is effective and suitable for system designers, installers, and operators, and 2) the Si-based devices evaluated (mainly monocrystalline) are cost-effective substitutes for the thermopile pyranometers.     

PV-GIS: a web-based solar radiation database for the calculation of PV potential in Europe

Solar radiation is a key factor determining electricity produced by photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper presents a solar radiation database of Europe developed in the geographical information system, and three interactive web applications providing an access to it. The database includes monthly and yearly average values of the global irradiation on horizontal and inclined surfaces, as well as climatic parameters needed for an assessment of the potential PV electricity generation (Linke atmospheric turbidity, the ratio of diffuse to global irradiation, an optimum inclination angle of modules to maximize energy yield). In the first web application, a user may browse radiation maps and query irradiation incident on a PV module for different inclination angles. The second application simulates daily profiles of irradiance for a chosen month and module inclination and orientation. The third web application estimates electricity generation for a chosen PV configuration. It also calculates optimal inclination and orientation of a PV module for a given location. The database and the applications are accessible at http://re.jrc.cec.ev.int/pvgis/pv/imaps/imaps.htm.     

Tuning of defects in ZnO nanorod arrays used in bulk heterojunction solar cells

With particular focus on bulk heterojunction solar cells incorporating ZnO nanorods, we study how different annealing environments (air or Zn environment) and temperatures impact on the photoluminescence response. Our work gives new insight into the complex defect landscape in ZnO, and it also shows how the different defect types can be manipulated. We have determined the emission wavelengths for the two main defects which make up the visible band, the oxygen vacancy emission wavelength at approximately 530 nm and the zinc vacancy emission wavelength at approximately 630 nm. The precise nature of the defect landscape in the bulk of the nanorods is found to be unimportant to photovoltaic cell performance although the surface structure is more critical. Annealing of the nanorods is optimum at 300°C as this is a sufficiently high temperature to decompose Zn(OH)₂ formed at the surface of the nanorods during electrodeposition and sufficiently low to prevent ITO degradation.     

Optical assessment of silicon nanowire arrays fabricated by metal-assisted chemical etching

Silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays were prepared on silicon substrates by metal-assisted chemical etching and peeled from the substrates, and their optical properties were measured. The absorption coefficient of the SiNW arrays was higher than that for the bulk silicon over the entire region. The absorption coefficient of a SiNW array composed of 10-μm-long nanowires was much higher than the theoretical absorptance of a 10-μm-thick flat Si wafer, suggesting that SiNW arrays exhibit strong optical confinement. To reveal the reason for this strong optical confinement demonstrated by SiNW arrays, angular distribution functions of their transmittance were experimentally determined. The results suggest that Mie-related scattering plays a significant role in the strong optical confinement of SiNW arrays.     

Dopant-free small molecule hole transport materials based on triphenylamine derivatives for perovskite solar cells

In the past decade, perovskite solar cells have become a promising candidate in the photovoltaic industry owing to their high power conversion efficiency that surpasses 25%. However, there are certain limitations that have hindered the development and full-scale practical application of these cells, including the high cost and degradation of perovskite caused by the dopants. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop dopant-free hole transport materials (HTMs). In recent years, HTMs based on triphenylamine (TPA-HTMs) are receiving growing interest owing to their high hole mobility, excellent film formation, and suitable energy levels. The literature here covers work relevant to TPA-HTMs in the last five years. They have been classified according to different core types. The correlations between performance and structure are summarized, and the future development trend of TPA-HTMs is highlighted.     

Analytic method for thermal performance and optimization of an absorber plate fin having variable thermal conductivity and overall loss coefficient

The absorber of a collector receives solar energy which is delivered to the transport medium to be carried away as useful energy. During this process, temperature of the absorber plate increases and therefore, thermophysical parameters engaged to determine the thermal performance of an absorber plate varies with temperature of the plate. The present study demonstrates analytically to determine the performance of an absorber plate fin with temperature dependent both thermal conductivity and overall heat loss coefficient. The decomposition method is proposed for the solution methodology. An optimum design analysis has also been carried out. A comparative study has been executed among the present results and that of existed in the published work, and a notable difference in results has been found. Finally, unlike published work, dependency parameters on the performances and optimum design have been highlighted.