Arizona State University

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of Arizona

Zachary Holman

Peter Alexander Firth

Brian M Wheelwright

Jinsong Huang

Yong-Hang Zhang

Roger P Angel

Raymond K Kostuk

Yuan Zhao

Kathryn Fisher

Xiaodong Meng

Zhengshan Yu

Bo Chen

Mathieu Boccard

A tandem photovoltaic device includes a silicon photovoltaic cell having a silicon layer, a perovskite photovoltaic cell having a perovskite layer, and an intermediate layer between a rear side of the perovskite photovoltaic cell and a front (sunward) side of the silicon photovoltaic cell. The front side of the silicon layer has a textured surface, with a peak-to-valley height of structures in the textured surface of less than 1 μm or less than 2 μm. The textured surface is planarized by the intermediate layer or a layer of the perovskite photovoltaic cell. Forming the tandem photovoltaic device includes texturing a silicon containing layer of a silicon photovoltaic cell and operatively coupling a perovskite photovoltaic cell comprising a perovskite layer to the silicon photovoltaic cell, thereby forming a tandem photovoltaic device and planarizing the textured surface of the silicon containing layer of the silicon photovoltaic cell.

Perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaic device

A photovoltaic module comprises a plurality of photovoltaic cells, and a polymeric film positioned on an incident light side of the plurality of photovoltaic cells, wherein the polymeric film transmits a range of wavelengths of the incident light spectrum and specularly reflects wavelengths outside of the range. An encapsulant layer is in contact with the polymeric film. The polymeric film may have a first surface area larger than a second surface area of the layer of photovoltaic cells. The polymeric film may have one or more through-holes so that encapsulant can penetrate through the through-holes at elevated temperature during lamination thereby bonding to a front glass of the photovoltaic module.

Wavelength-selective specularly reflecting photovoltaic module and manufacture thereof

A particle deposition system can have a particle source providing a nanomaterial at a controlled rate and a gas distribution system coupled with the particle source and operable to receive the nanomaterial aerosol. A high pressure chamber can be coupled with the gas distribution system, and a nozzle can be disposed between the high pressure chamber and a low pressure chamber. The nozzle can have a nozzle opening allowing fluidic communication of a nanomaterial aerosol between the high pressure chamber and the low pressure chamber and the opening can have a length exceeding a width.

System and methods for deposition spray of particulate coatings

A solar PV module is disclosed having two types of laterally-separated coplanar cells with different bandgaps to improve conversion efficiency. A diffracting entrance window directs sunlight with wavelengths shorter than a separation 5 wavelength ks is directed largely to the first type of wider bandgap cells. Sunlight with wavelengths longer than a separation wavelength ks is directed largely to the second type of narrower bandgap cells. The separation wavelength is chosen so that each cell is illuminated largely by that part of the solar spectrum to which it has the higher conversion efficiency, resulting in an overall conversion efficiency higher than 10 for either type of cell used alone. The wider bandgap cells are configured on a planar support in separated parallel strips, with the narrower bandgap cells largely filling the area between these strips.

Tandem photovoltaic module with diffractive spectral separation

Devices converting light to electricity (such as solar cells or photodetectors) including a heavily-doped p-type a-SiC:H and an i-MgCdTe/n-CdTe/N&#x2014;MgCdTe double heterostructure (DH), with power conversion efficiency of as high as 17%, Vas high as 1.096 V, and all operational characteristics being substantially better than those of monocrystalline solar cells known to-date. The a-SiC:H layer is configured to enable high built-in potential while, at the same time, allowing the doped absorber to maintain a very long carry lifetime. In comparison, similar undoped CdTe/MgCdTe DH designs reveal a long carrier lifetime of 3.6 &#x3bc;s and an interface recommendation velocity of 1.2 cm/s, which are lower than the record values reported for GaAs/AlGaAs (18 cm/s) and GaAs/GaInP (1.5 cm/s) DHs.

CdTe-based double heterostructures and related light-conversion devices

Growing community of inventors

Phoenix, AZ, United States of America

Zachary Holman