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Micromachines
Special Issues
Thin Film Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices
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Thin Film Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D：Materials and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 April 2022) | Viewed by 4316

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Hugo Aguas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Interests: materials; photovoltaics; thin-film silicon; perovskites; microfluidics; SERS; biosensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photovoltaics and Photonics are important key technologies to enable a greener and sustainable future for our society, given our primary dependence on energy to sustain good quality of life.

The novel understanding of the physical phenomena underlying light–matter interactions and propagation within materials could bridge the gap towards the major goal of the energy green deal.

Indeed, recent developments have brought the efficiency of many solar cell technologies closer to the theoretical maximum, particularly by being able to capture (and trap) more light in a wider spectral range by reducing recombination and by decreasing the contact resistance.

This Special Issue aims to display and gather discussion manuscripts on the latest developments concerning materials and techniques that boost solar cells’ efficiency independently of its base materials.

Experimental and theoretical works related but not limited to the following topics are welcome:

  1. Photonics for solar cells;
  2. Light-managing systems;
  3. Passivation techniques;
  4. Multi-band solar cells;
  5. Quantum dot solar cells;
  6. Thin film solar cells;
  7. Up-and-down converters;
  8. Transparent conductive materials;
  9. New materials for solar cells;
  10. Novel configurations;
  11. Light coupler and focusing devices; and
  12. Nanophotonics, meta-surfaces, and device designs.

Dr. Hugo Aguas
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. Micromachines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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

  • solar cells
  • photovoltaics
  • thin films
  • photonics

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3010 KiB  
Article
Numerical Analysis of a CZTS Solar Cell with MoS2 as a Buffer Layer and Graphene as a Transparent Conducting Oxide Layer for Enhanced Cell Performance
by Sampad Ghosh, Samira Yasmin, Jannatul Ferdous and Bidyut Baran Saha
Micromachines 2022, 13(8), 1249; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13081249 - 03 Aug 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2087
Abstract
Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) can be considered an important absorber layer material for utilization in thin film solar cell devices because of its non-toxic, earth abundance, and cost-effective properties. In this study, the effect of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as a [...] Read more.
Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) can be considered an important absorber layer material for utilization in thin film solar cell devices because of its non-toxic, earth abundance, and cost-effective properties. In this study, the effect of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as a buffer layer on the different parameters of CZTS-based solar cell devices was explored to design a highly efficient solar cell. While graphene is considered a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layer for the superior quantum efficiency of CZTS thin film solar cells, MoS2 acts as a hole transport layer to offer electron–hole pair separation and an electron blocking layer to prevent recombination at the graphene/CZTS interface. This study proposed and analyzed a competent and economic CZTS solar cell structure (graphene/MoS2/CZTS/Ni) with MoS2 and graphene as the buffer and TCO layers, respectively, using the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS)-1D. The proposed structure exhibited the following enhanced solar cell performance parameters: open-circuit voltage—0.8521 V, short-circuit current—25.3 mA cm−2, fill factor—84.76%, and efficiency—18.27%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Film Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices)
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16 pages, 2510 KiB  
Article
Morphology, Electrical and Optical Properties of Cu Nanostructures Embedded in AZO: A Comparison between Dry and Wet Methods
by Stefano Boscarino, Maria Censabella, Melanie Micali, Marco Russo, Antonio Terrasi, Maria Grazia Grimaldi and Francesco Ruffino
Micromachines 2022, 13(2), 247; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi13020247 - 01 Feb 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1656
Abstract
Herein, Cu nanostructures are obtained by solid-state dewetting of 9 nm copper layer (dry) or by ablating copper target, using a nanosecond pulsed laser at 1064 nm, in acetone and isopropyl alcohol (wet). The Cu nanostructures are embedded in aluminum-doped zinc oxide layer. [...] Read more.
Herein, Cu nanostructures are obtained by solid-state dewetting of 9 nm copper layer (dry) or by ablating copper target, using a nanosecond pulsed laser at 1064 nm, in acetone and isopropyl alcohol (wet). The Cu nanostructures are embedded in aluminum-doped zinc oxide layer. Then, the electrical, optical, and morphological properties of the two kinds of systems, as a function of their synthesis parameters, are investigated. The aim is to compare the two fabrication methods and select the main conditions to achieve the best system for photovoltaic applications. The main differences, exhibited by the wet and dry processes, were in the shape and size of the Cu nanostructures. Dewetting in nitrogen produces faceted nanoparticles, with an average size below 150 nm, while laser ablation originates spherical and smaller nanoparticles, below 50 nm. Dry system underwent to thermal annealing, which improves the electrical properties, compared to the wet system, with a sheet resistance of 103 vs. 106 Ω/sq, respectively; finally, the dry system shows a maximum transmittance of 89.7% at 697 nm, compared to the wet system in acetone, 88.4% at 647 nm, as well as in isopropyl alcohol, 86.9% at 686 nm. Moreover, wet systems show higher transmittance in NUV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Film Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices)
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