Novel concepts for low-cost and high-efficient thin film solar cells

Abstract

This work presents the activities carried out at ITMA Materials Technology related to the building integration of thin film (TF) photovoltaics (PV). Three different approaches have been developed in order to achieve high efficient solar cells at low manufacturing costs: (i) a new route for manufacturing monolithical silicon based thin film solar cells on building materials, (ii) the use of metallic nanoparticles for light trapping (plasmonic effects and light scattering) and (iii) the luminescent sol-gel coating on glass for solar concentration. In the first case, amorphous silicon modules (single junction) have been successfully manufactured at lab scale on steel and commercial ceramic substrates with efficiencies of 5.4% and 4.0%, respectively. Promising initial attempts have been also made in ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a polymer with high potential in textile architecture. In a similar way, the development of nanotechnology based coatings (metallic nanoparticles and luminescent materials) represent the most innovative part of the work and some preliminary results are showed.

Light-Responsive Polymer Surfaces via Postpolymerization Modification of Grafted Polymer-Brush Structures

“…High-performance polymers, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and poly­(ethylene- alt -tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) have been used, due to their advantageous bulk properties, in a multitude of applications such as electrical insulation of cables and wiring,filters and linings for chemical industry, convection barriers for solar cells, , and nonsticking and self-cleaning surfaces . Their high stability and chemical inertness also dominate their surface properties, often leading to limitations in specific applications where chemical functionalization would be advantageous.…”