photovoltaics – TechConnect Briefs

Fabrication and Opto-Electronic Modeling of Down-Shifting Enhanced Photovoltaics

Montes-Bojorquez J.R., Villa-Bracamonte M.F., Ayon A.A., University of Texas at San Antonio, US

We report the fabrication and spectroscopic ellipsometry characterization of layer-by-layer assembled quantum dot multilayered films and their influence in the power conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells. The experimental performance of the resulting structure that [...]

Next Generation Photovoltaic Devices Leveraging Restricted Angular Emissions

Welser R.E., Sood A.K., Dhar N.K., Magnolia Optical Technologies, Inc., US

Thin-film III-V devices are an attractive technology for photovoltaic energy harvesting devices, capable of supplying portable and mobile power in both terrestrial and space environments. Single-junction III-V technologies can provide high levels of performance over [...]

Strong, controllable, robust, and scalable graphene n-doping for optoelectronic and micro/nano-electronic applications

Folkson J., Ashraf A., Eisaman M.D., Stony Brook University(SBU)/Brookhaven National Lab(BNL), US

Graphene holds promise for many applications such as microelectronics, optoelectronics, and energy storage due to its outstanding properties. The realization of these applications, however, requires tailoring graphene’s electronic properties via controlled doping (addition or removal [...]

An Anti-reflective and Anti-Soiling Coating for Photovoltaic Panels

Xu Q.F., Zhao Y., Kujan B., Lyons A., ARL Designs LLC, US

Photovoltaic panels face two major challenges in maximizing and maintaining their electrical output – reflections and soiling of the outer glass surface. To address these challenges, we developed a durable, transparent high-performance polymeric coating on [...]

Improved Nanophotonics Simulation Tools for Light-Trapping in Photovoltaics

Shepard S., Rubaiat F., Louisiana Tech University, US

Models used in the field of nanoparticle enhanced light-trapping have a wide range of complexity. Often one simply calculates how much power is absorbed in a particular region e.g., a layer of silicon withing a [...]

Periodic and Psuedo-Random Back-Reflector Nanoparticle Enhanced Light-Trapping in a Silicon Photovoltaic

Shepard S., Patel L., Rubaiat F., Louisiana Tech University, US

We consider the light-trapping enhancement of a silicon photovoltaic with conductive nanoparticles of various shapes, sizes and spacing as top-reflectors; used in conjunction with a periodic and a pseudo-random back-reflectors. The nanoparticles in the top-reflector [...]

Nanotechnology Enabled Photovoltaics and Electronics for High-Power-Density Energy Systems

Smith T.C., Lyshevski S.E., Rochester Institute of Technology, US

This paper examines nanotechnology-enabled high-power and high-energy density microelectronics, power electronics, energy sources, energy storage solutions. Proof-of-concept self-sustainable power systems are designed with applications in autonomous and portable aerospace, automotive, biotechnology, medical, security and other [...]