Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se<sub>2</sub> Thin-Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 2. Evaporation Source Design

Mukati, Kapil; Ogunnaike, Babatunde A.; Eser, E.; Fields, Shannon; Birkmire, Robert W.

doi:10.1021/ie801596a

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Several types of systems are possible, some of which are based on thermochemistry, while others are based on photochemistry . Photovoltaic cells and modules − have also emerged as an important part of the energy mixture of many countries, but they will not be fully examined in this review. The storage of solar energy has recently been reported in this journal .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Photochemical and Thermochemical Production of Solar Fuels from H₂O and CO₂ Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Smestad

Steinfeld

2012

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

206

136

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Metal oxides are reviewed as catalysts to convert H 2 O and CO 2 to fuels using solar energy. For photochemical conversion, TiO 2 has been found to be the most stable and useful oxide material, but it is currently limited by its large bandgap and a mismatch between its conduction band and the redox couples for water splitting and CO 2 reduction. A theoretical framework has been utilized to understand the basic thermodynamics and energetics in photochemical energy conversion systems. This is applied to model systems comprised of Ag 2 O and AgCl to examine why the former reacts thermochemically in air, while the latter reacts photochemically. For thermochemical conversion, zinc-, ceria-, and ferrite-based redox cycles are examined and examples of high-temperature solar reactors driven by concentrated solar radiation are presented. For CO 2 splitting, theoretical solar-to-fuel energy conversion efficiencies can be up to 26.8% for photochemical systems, and can exceed 30% for thermochemical systems, provided that sensible heat is recovered between the redox steps. ■ INTRODUCTIONThe conversion of solar energy into useful forms has reached a critical stage where large-scale industrial applications are allowing it to make significant and promising contributions to our present and future energy needs. In this review, we present some basic concepts and survey a few of the recent developments in the conversion of solar energy into fuel. Several types of systems are possible, some of which are based on thermochemistry, 1 while others are based on photochemistry. 2 Photovoltaic cells and modules 3−7 have also emerged as an important part of the energy mixture of many countries, but they will not be fully examined in this review. The storage of solar energy has recently been reported in this journal. 8 The first section of this review focuses on the photochemical production of fuels and includes a generalized framework that can be used to understand the energetics and mechanism of both photovoltaic (PV) solar cells, as well as solar photochemistry using semiconductor materials. 9−12 This framework will be applied to a consideration of Ag 2 O, which is a model metal oxide system that, in air, seems to react thermochemically but not photochemically. The second half of this review focuses on the solar thermochemical splitting of H 2 O and CO 2 via metal oxide redox cycles. A comparison between metal oxide and solar electrolysis fuel-forming systems will also be presented. ■ DISCUSSIONPhotochemistry and Quantum Solar Converters. Two forms of solar energy conversion are considered. One is thermal conversion, where work can be extracted after sunlight is absorbed as thermal energy, and the other is quantum conversion, where the work output can be taken directly from the light absorber. In a thermal system, solar radiation is absorbed as heat, preferably at some high temperature, which, in turn, is used to drive a heat engine. In a quantum system, a fixed number of photons yield a fixed number of energy quanta, such as excited elect...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Photochemical and Thermochemical Production of Solar Fuels from H₂O and CO₂ Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Smestad

Steinfeld

2012

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

206

136

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“…The thermal model and DSMC effusion model developed in this paper allow for source design optimization via simulations, rather than the usual way of extensive and expensive trial-and-error experimentation. These models can now be used to develop a general procedure for thermal evaporation sources design, which we will present in the second paper in this series …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se₂Thin Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 1. Evaporation Source Model Development

Mukati¹,

Ogunnaike²,

Eser³

et al. 2009

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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Even though rapid advances have been made in improving Cu(InGa)Se 2 thin-film-based solar cell efficiencies, the breakthroughs have been limited to the laboratory scale. Most commercially viable thin-film technologies reside at the premanufacturing development stage and scaleup has proven to be much more difficult than expected. Elemental in-line evaporation on flexible substrates in a roll-to-roll configuration is a commercially attractive process for the manufacture of large-area CuInSe 2 -based photovoltaics. At the University of Delaware's Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC), such a process is being investigated, at the pilot scale, for a polyimide web substrate. The process works well for 6-in.-wide substrates and for short deposition runtimes. However, a commercially viable process is required to produce large-area, high-quality films at a muchhigher throughput. Specifically, the desired film thickness (∼2 µm) and composition uniformity must be achieved continuously and reproducibly on large-area (12-in.-wide) substrates at translation speeds (∼1 ft/ min) much higher than those currently used in pilot-scale processes. Although achievement of the desired film thickness and composition setpoints is best addressed by proper control system design, the film thickness uniformity is determined by the source design and individual nozzle effusion rates. The nozzle effusion rates, in turn, are dependent on the melt surface temperature profile and, thus, on the source design itself. Therefore, proper source design is critical in achieving film thickness uniformity. We have identified two modeling requirements for effective thermal evaporation source design: (i) a detailed three-dimensional thermal model of the evaporation source, to predict the melt surface temperature accurately, and (ii) a nozzle effusion model, to predict the effusion rate and the vapor flux distribution for a given nozzle geometry (length and diameter), melt surface temperature, and evaporant. To meet the first requirement, we have developed a first-principles three-dimensional electrothermal model using COMSOL Multiphysics software; the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method has been used for effusion modeling. In this paper, which is the first of a two-part series, we present the details of the two models and their experimental validation.

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“…9 They have demonstrated the determination of suitable variable hard sphere (VHS) molecular model parameters. Mukati et al 10,11 have investigated effective commercial-scale design for CuðInGaÞSe 2 thin film coevaporative physical vapor deposition process using DSMC method based effusion model.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of carrier gas flow rate and source cell temperature on low pressure organic vapor phase deposition simulation by direct simulation Monte Carlo method

Wada¹,

Ueda²

2013

Journal of Applied Physics

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The process of low pressure organic vapor phase deposition (LP-OVPD) controls the growth of amorphous organic thin films, where the source gases (Alq3 molecule, etc.) are introduced into a hot wall reactor via an injection barrel using an inert carrier gas (N 2 molecule). It is possible to control well the following substrate properties such as dopant concentration, deposition rate, and thickness uniformity of the thin film. In this paper, we present LP-OVPD simulation results using direct simulation Monte Carlo-Neutrals (Particle-PLUS neutral module) which is commercial software adopting direct simulation Monte Carlo method. By estimating properly the evaporation rate with experimental vaporization enthalpies, the calculated deposition rates on the substrate agree well with the experimental results that depend on carrier gas flow rate and source cell temperature. V C 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx

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Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se₂ Thin-Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 2. Evaporation Source Design

Cited by 4 publications

References 2 publications

Review: Photochemical and Thermochemical Production of Solar Fuels from H₂O and CO₂ Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Review: Photochemical and Thermochemical Production of Solar Fuels from H₂O and CO₂ Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se₂Thin Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 1. Evaporation Source Model Development

The effect of carrier gas flow rate and source cell temperature on low pressure organic vapor phase deposition simulation by direct simulation Monte Carlo method

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Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se2 Thin-Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 2. Evaporation Source Design

Cited by 4 publications

References 2 publications

Review: Photochemical and Thermochemical Production of Solar Fuels from H2O and CO2 Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Review: Photochemical and Thermochemical Production of Solar Fuels from H2O and CO2 Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se2Thin Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 1. Evaporation Source Model Development

The effect of carrier gas flow rate and source cell temperature on low pressure organic vapor phase deposition simulation by direct simulation Monte Carlo method

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Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se₂ Thin-Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 2. Evaporation Source Design

Review: Photochemical and Thermochemical Production of Solar Fuels from H₂O and CO₂ Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Review: Photochemical and Thermochemical Production of Solar Fuels from H₂O and CO₂ Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Scaleup of Cu(InGa)Se₂Thin Film Coevaporative Physical Vapor Deposition Process, 1. Evaporation Source Model Development