Enhancement of silicon-wafer solar cell efficiency with low-cost wrinkle antireflection coating of polydimethylsiloxane

Zhang, Yaoju; Zheng, Jun; Fang, Chaolong; Li, Zhihong; Zhao, Xuesong; Li, Yijie; Ruan, Xiukai; Dai, Yuxing

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2017.10.004

Cited by 41 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…We also proposed silicone encapsulation to improve efficiency as we increased the AOI. In particular, the casting‐based process with silicone encapsulation is suitable for 3‐D module fabrication because it is difficult to apply the hot‐press lamination process to complex‐shaped cell arrays. Through this process, we aimed to realize the full potential of cell performance at the module level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding 10% hidden electricity in crystalline Si solar cells using PDMS coating and three‐dimensional cell arrays

Yun

Sim

Seung

et al. 2020

Progress in Photovoltaics

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Over the decades, solar cells have been developed to achieve higher energy conversion efficiency. However, the fabrication of modules has resulted in electricity production loss, but this has not attracted as much attention as the solar cells. As a result, the improved performance of solar cells has not been fully revealed at the panel scale. Furthermore, the standard testing conditions, such as 1 sun, AM1.5, which is very strong incident light, does not fully reflect the electricity production capabilities of solar panels because of performance degradation under oblique and weak illumination. Simple modification of the module fabrication process, including poly‐dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coatings and three‐dimensional (3‐D) structured modules by one‐directional angled arrays of each cell, has revealed 13.4% extra hidden electricity in solar panels with some types of crystalline silicon (Si)‐based solar cells through high transmission to short wavelength light, recapture of the light reflected from Si solar cell surface textures by the PDMS coating and enhanced power production under oblique incident light or scattered light through a 3‐D module. Further studies to find hidden electricity should be followed by the development of solar cell device structures to improve electricity production, rather than being restricted to optimizing energy conversion efficiency.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Finding 10% hidden electricity in crystalline Si solar cells using PDMS coating and three‐dimensional cell arrays

Yun

Sim

Seung

et al. 2020

Progress in Photovoltaics

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“…Wrinkles are wavy physical structures with periodicity that can impart flexibility to optoelectronic devices and control the optical path through a material stack. Therefore, they are widely utilized to enhance the properties of optoelectronic devices [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Rogers et al reported that the characteristics of transistors and photodetectors can be preserved during device bending by transforming the rigid silicon structure into a wavy wrinkle structure [ 1 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Low-Pressure Plasma Treatment Parameters on Wrinkle Features

et al. 2020

Materials

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Wrinkles attract significant attention due to their ability to enhance the mechanical and optical characteristics of various optoelectronic devices. We report the effect of the plasma gas type, power, flow rate, and treatment time on the wrinkle features. When an optical adhesive was treated using a low-pressure plasma of oxygen, argon, and nitrogen, the oxygen and argon plasma generated wrinkles with the lowest and highest wavelengths, respectively. The increase in the power of the nitrogen and oxygen plasma increased the wavelengths and heights of the wrinkles; however, the increase in the power of the argon plasma increased the wavelengths and decreased the heights of the wrinkles. Argon molecules are heavier and smaller than nitrogen and oxygen molecules that have similar weights and sizes; moreover, the argon plasma comprises positive ions while the oxygen and nitrogen plasma comprise negative ions. This resulted in differences in the wrinkle features. It was concluded that a combination of different plasma gases could achieve exclusive control over either the wavelength or the height and allow a thorough analysis of the correlation between the wrinkle features and the characteristics of the electronic devices.

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“…Formation of buckles (wrinkles) on a thin film attached to a compliant substrate has received considerable attention due to the advancement of flexible electronics, [1][2][3][4][5] optoelectronics and photovoltaics, [6][7][8][9][10][11] and various functional devices, [12][13][14][15][16] as well as the development of self-organizing mechanisms. [17][18][19][20][21] Buckling can be triggered by direct application of an in-plane compressive strain, as schematically shown in Figure 1(a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct numerical simulation of buckling instability of thin films on a compliant substrate

Nikravesh

Ryu

Shen

2019

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

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Surface buckling (wrinkling) driven by mechanical instability is commonly observed in thin-film structures with a compliant substrate. The resulting undulation, while sometimes undesirable, has been increasingly exploited to enhance mechanical and/or functional performances of many thin film devices. In this study a practical finite element modeling approach is introduced to simulate wrinkle formation in thin films atop a compliant substrate. The proposed technique is robust and easy to implement, and it overcomes typical challenges in computationally modeling the buckling instability. Using a two-dimensional geometry under the plane strain or generalized plane strain conditions, with randomly distributed imperfections bearing different material properties at the film/substrate interface, we demonstrate the model's capability in triggering surface instability during direct compression and out-of-plane tensile loading. With sufficient mesh refinement, the predicted wrinkling wavelength, amplitude, and critical strain to activate wrinkle formation are shown to be close to analytical solutions. The effect of imperfection distribution is systematically studied, and a valid range of imperfection spacing is identified. The present numerical approach can be applied to predicting buckling instability in the design and analysis of thin film/compliant substrate systems over a wide range of material and geometric conditions. Directions for future studies are also discussed.

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Enhancement of silicon-wafer solar cell efficiency with low-cost wrinkle antireflection coating of polydimethylsiloxane

Cited by 41 publications

References 41 publications

Finding 10% hidden electricity in crystalline Si solar cells using PDMS coating and three‐dimensional cell arrays

Finding 10% hidden electricity in crystalline Si solar cells using PDMS coating and three‐dimensional cell arrays

Effect of Low-Pressure Plasma Treatment Parameters on Wrinkle Features

Direct numerical simulation of buckling instability of thin films on a compliant substrate

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