Selected Papers from the 2nd Spring International School and Workshop of Nanotechnology for the Next Generation High Efficiency Photovoltaics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanotechnology and Applied Nanosciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2015) | Viewed by 18305

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1. Group of Solar Energy Materials and Systems, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), 08930 Barcelona, Spain
2. Department of Electronics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Interests: thin film photovoltaic technologies; chalcogenide based solar cells; advanced device concepts for very high efficiency photovoltai+cs; new concepts in Si technology; emerging photovoltaic technologies; perovskites; organic solar cells; BIPV and BAPV concepts
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IREC, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, 08930 Sant Adrià de Besós, Spain
Interests: renewable energy, energy storage and conversion, solar and synthetic fuels, added-value chemicals
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Institut Matériaux Microélectronique Nanosciences de Provence–IM2NP, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France

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Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Spain

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Institut Matériaux Microélectronique Nanosciences de Provence–IM2NP, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The 2nd Nanotechnology for the Next Generation High Efficiency Photovoltaics Spring International School & Workshop will be held during 20–24 April 2015 on the Balearic Islands, Spain.

This event continues on the previous successful NEXTGEN NANO PV International Spring School and Workshop held in Cargèse (Corsica, France) in 1-6 April 2013. The main aim is to review the state of the art and existing challenges related to the implementation of new nanotechnology based concepts for solving the main problems in the development of cost efficient and sustainable PV.

Researchers presenting their work at the conference are invited to submit their papers to this special issue of the journal Applied Sciences after the conference and at the latest by 24 July 2015. Submitted papers should be expanded to the size of regular research or review articles. All submitted papers will undergo our standard peer-review procedure. Accepted papers will be published in open access format in the journal Applied Sciences and collected together on this special issue website.

Contributions on related topics but not presented at the conference are also welcome to be included in this special issue.

Prof. Dr. Alejandro Pérez-Rodríguez
Prof. Dr. Joan Ramón Morante
Prof. Dr. Ludovic Escoubas
Dr. Edgardo Saucedo
Dr. Judikael Le Rouzo
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • next generation photovoltaics
  • nanotechnology and new concepts

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

2521 KiB  
Article
Optical Simulation of Light Management in CIGS Thin-Film Solar Cells Using Finite Element Method
by Nikola Bednar, Noemi Severino and Nadja Adamovic
Appl. Sci. 2015, 5(4), 1735-1744; https://doi.org/10.3390/app5041735 - 11 Dec 2015
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6627
Abstract
In this paper we present an optical simulation of light management in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells with reduced absorber layer thickness, with the goal of absorption enhancement in the absorber layer. The light management was achieved by texturing of the substrate layer, [...] Read more.
In this paper we present an optical simulation of light management in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells with reduced absorber layer thickness, with the goal of absorption enhancement in the absorber layer. The light management was achieved by texturing of the substrate layer, and the conformal growth of all the following layers was assumed. Two texturing shapes have been explored: triangular and convex, with different periods and height aspect ratios. The simulations have shown that significant enhancement of absorption within the absorber layer can be achieved using the proposed geometry. The results showed that the triangular textures with small periods (100–200 nm) and high aspect ratios have the most prominent effect on the enhancement of absorption within the absorber layer, although they are difficult to achieve experimentally. Full article
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1541 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Transition Metal Oxide/Silicon Heterojunctions for Solar Cell Applications
by Luis G. Gerling, Somnath Mahato, Cristobal Voz, Ramon Alcubilla and Joaquim Puigdollers
Appl. Sci. 2015, 5(4), 695-705; https://doi.org/10.3390/app5040695 - 09 Oct 2015
Cited by 91 | Viewed by 10964
Abstract
During the last decade, transition metal oxides have been actively investigated as hole- and electron-selective materials in organic electronics due to their low-cost processing. In this study, four transition metal oxides (V2O5, MoO3, WO3, and [...] Read more.
During the last decade, transition metal oxides have been actively investigated as hole- and electron-selective materials in organic electronics due to their low-cost processing. In this study, four transition metal oxides (V2O5, MoO3, WO3, and ReO3) with high work functions (>5 eV) were thermally evaporated as front p-type contacts in planar n-type crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells. The concentration of oxygen vacancies in MoO3−x was found to be dependent on film thickness and redox conditions, as determined by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Transfer length method measurements of oxide films deposited on glass yielded high sheet resistances (~109 Ω/sq), although lower values (~104 Ω/sq) were measured for oxides deposited on silicon, indicating the presence of an inversion (hole rich) layer. Of the four oxide/silicon solar cells, ReO3 was found to be unstable upon air exposure, while V2O5 achieved the highest open-circuit voltage (593 mV) and conversion efficiency (12.7%), followed by MoO3 (581 mV, 12.6%) and WO3 (570 mV, 11.8%). A short-circuit current gain of ~0.5 mA/cm2 was obtained when compared to a reference amorphous silicon contact, as expected from a wider energy bandgap. Overall, these results support the viability of a simplified solar cell design, processed at low temperature and without dopants. Full article
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