Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue "Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices"

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
Interests: thin film solar cells; silicon-based solar cells; semiconductor devices; nano-scale materials; photovoltaic applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Guest Editor is inviting contributions for a Special Issue on the topic area of “Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices”. For decades, researchers have reported intensively on advances and achievements in photovoltaic and semiconductor devices. Efforts have been concentrated to date on developing low-cost, high-efficiency devices for market competitiveness. The goals necessitate that scientists continually discover advanced materials and technologies. This Special Issue addresses the latest advances and/or innovations in semiconductor materials and technologies such as solar cells, transistors, diodes, sensors, etc. Original research or review papers based on both modeling and experimental studies are encouraged.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

Silicon-based solar cells;
Multijunction photovoltaic devices;
Thin film transistors;
Thin film solar cells;
Hybrid solar cells;
Technologies: passivating contact, carrier selective contact, interdigitated back contact, and so on;
Antireflection coatings and transparent conducting oxides.

Prof. Dr. Pham Duy Phong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Energies 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 2600 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

photovoltaic devices
solar cells
thin film photovoltaic
transparent conductive oxides
anti-reflection coatings
high-κ materials
metal oxide gate insulators
thin film transistors
silicon heterojunction
multijunction photovoltaics
hybrid solar cells
passivating contacts

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Open AccessCommunication

The Impact of the Micro-Structure within Passivated Layers on the Performance of the a-Si:H/c-Si Heterojunction Solar Cells

and

Energies 2023, 16(18), 6694; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16186694 - 18 Sep 2023

Viewed by 341

Abstract

This study investigated the correlation between the degree of disorder of the post-hydrogen plasma treatment (HPT) of the intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H(i)) and the device characteristics of the a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction (HJ) solar cells. The reduction in the degree of disorder helps to improve interface defects and to enhance the effective carrier lifetime of the a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction. The highest effective minority carrier lifetime of 2.08 ms was observed in the film with the lowest degree of disorder of 2.03. The devices constructed with HPT a-Si:H(i) having a lower degree of disorder demonstrated higher device performance in terms of open-circuit voltage (V_oc), fill factor (FF), and subsequent conversion efficiency. An a-Si:H(i) with a lower degree of disorder (2.03) resulted in a higher V_oc of 728 mV and FF of 72.33% and achieved a conversion efficiency of up to 20.84% for the a-Si:H/c-Si HJ silicon solar cell. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Open AccessArticle

Real-Time ITO Layer Thickness for Solar Cells Using Deep Learning and Optical Interference Phenomena

Xinyi Fan

Bojun Wang

Muhammad Quddamah Khokhar

Muhammad Aleem Zahid

Duy Phong Pham

and

Junsin Yi

Energies 2023, 16(16), 6049; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16166049 - 18 Aug 2023

Viewed by 351

Abstract

The thickness of the indium tin oxide (ITO) layer is a critical parameter affecting the performance of solar cells. Traditional measurement methods require sample collection, leading to manufacturing interruptions and potential quality issues. In this paper, we propose a real-time, non-contact approach using deep learning and optical interference phenomena to estimate the thickness of ITO layers in solar cells. We develop a convolutional neural network (CNN) model that processes microscopic images of solar cells and predicts the ITO layer thickness. In addition, mean absolute error (MAE) and mean squared error (MSE) loss functions are combined to train the model. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in accurately estimating the ITO layer thickness. The integration of computer vision and deep learning techniques provides a valuable tool for non-destructive testing and quality control in the manufacturing of solar cells. The loss of the model after training is reduced to 0.83, and the slope of the test value in the scatter plot with the true value of the ellipsometer is approximately equal to 1, indicating the high reliability of the model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Open AccessArticle

Unveiling the Future of Insulator Coatings: Unmatched Corrosion Resistance and Self-Healing Properties of PFPE Lubricating Oil-Infused Hydrophobized CeO₂ Surfaces

and

Energies 2023, 16(14), 5271; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16145271 - 10 Jul 2023

Viewed by 320

Abstract

Corrosion accounts for 52% of the recorded breakdown of insulators utilized in transmission lines, which may interfere with the reliability of power utilities. The CeO₂ conversion coating, CeO₂-ethylene propylene diene monomer, EPDM composite coating, and Perfluoropolyether PFPE lubricating oil-infused hydrophobized CeO₂ composite surfaces were developed on the insulator surface to address these challenges. The properties of these three kinds of structures are compared based on the persistence of coating over insulators installed in a highly contaminated environment. PFPE lubricating oil-infused hydrophobized CeO₂ composite surfaces show excellent performance over other approaches. A lubricating oil-infused hydrophobized CeO₂ composite of thickness 35.4 µm exhibits contact angles 60°, 85°, and 160°, and contact angle hysteresis of 12°, 10°, and 4°, respectively, after accelerated thermal aging. The proposed approach presents self-healing and corrosion resistance (corrosion rate 0.3 × 10⁻³ mm/Y, I_corr 1.2 × 10⁻⁷), post-accelerated thermal aging. The research outcome is expected to pave the way for incredibly robust insulator coatings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Special Issue "Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices"

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (3 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI