Nanoparticle Solar Cell Final Technical Report

Breeze, Alison, J ; Sahoo, Yudhisthira ; Reddy, Damoder ; Sholin, Veronica ; Carter, Sue

关键词: BUFFERS;    COMMERCIALIZATION;    DEPOSITION;    ELECTRODES;    KNOWLEDGE BASE;    MANUFACTURING;    ORGANIC POLYMERS;    PERFORMANCE;    PHYSICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION;    PHYSICS;    SOLAR CELLS;    SOLAR ENERGY;    SPUTTERING;    SYNTHESIS IR;    Nanoparticle;    Solar Cell;   

DOI  :  10.2172/932216
RP-ID  :  DOE/ER/86326-1
PID  :  OSTI ID: 932216
Others  :  TRN: US200917%%394

学科分类：再生能源与代替技术

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

The purpose of this work was to demonstrate all-inorganic nanoparticle-based solar cells with photovoltaic performance extending into the near-IR region of the solar spectrum as a pathway towards improving power conversion efficiencies. The field of all-inorganic nanoparticle-based solar cells is very new, with only one literature publication in the prior to our project. Very little is understood regarding how these devices function. Inorganic solar cells with IR performance have previously been fabricated using traditional methods such as physical vapor deposition and sputtering, and solution-processed devices utilizing IR-absorbing organic polymers have been investigated. The solution-based deposition of nanoparticles offers the potential of a low-cost manufacturing process combined with the ability to tune the chemical synthesis and material properties to control the device properties. This work, in collaboration with the Sue Carter research group at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has greatly expanded the knowledge base in this field, exploring multiple material systems and several key areas of device physics including temperature, bandgap and electrode device behavior dependence, material morphological behavior, and the role of buffer layers. One publication has been accepted to Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells pending minor revision and another two papers are being written now. While device performance in the near-IR did not reach the level anticipated at the beginning of this grant, we did observe one of the highest near-IR efficiencies for a nanoparticle-based solar cell device to date. We also identified several key parameters of importance for improving both near-IR performance and nanoparticle solar cells in general, and demonstrated multiple pathways which showed promise for future commercialization with further research.