The role of the interfacial layer in Schottky barrier solar cells

Swami, N. K.; Srivastava, Shivam; Ghule, H. M.

doi:10.1088/0022-3727/12/5/018

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…25 The Schottky barrier is provided by a metal-semiconductor junction. 26,27 Recent theoretical studies, 28,29 along with an earlier experimental study, 30 have suggested that Schottky-barrier solar cells may be a particularly promising proposition if the semiconductor layer (i.e., the absorbing layer) was made from alloys of indium gallium nitride (In ξ Ga 1−ξ N), since the bandgap for these alloys can closely match the range of energies of photons across the entire solar spectrum (i.e., 0.70 to 3.42 eV) by varying the relative proportions of indium and gallium through the parameter ξ ∈ ð0;1Þ. 31 Specifically, indium nitride (i.e., ξ ¼ 1) has a bandgap of 0.7 eV 32,33 and absorbs efficiently across the infrared regime in the solar spectrum, while gallium nitride (i.e., ξ ¼ 0) has a bandgap of 3.42 eV and absorbs efficiently across the near-ultraviolet portion of the solar spectrum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced efficiency of Schottky-barrier solar cell with periodically nonhomogeneous indium gallium nitride layer

2017

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, "Enhanced efficiency of Schottky-barrier solar cell with periodically nonhomogeneous indium gallium nitride layer," J. Photon. Energy 7(1), 014502 (2017), doi: 10.1117/1.JPE.7.014502. Abstract. A two-dimensional finite-element model was developed to simulate the optoelectronic performance of a Schottky-barrier solar cell. The heart of this solar cell is a junction between a metal and a layer of n-doped indium gallium nitride (In ξ Ga 1−ξ N) alloy sandwiched between a reflection-reducing front window and a periodically corrugated metallic back reflector. The bandgap of the In ξ Ga 1−ξ N layer was varied periodically in the thickness direction by varying the parameter ξ ∈ ð0;1Þ. First, the frequency-domain Maxwell postulates were solved to determine the spatial profile of photon absorption and, thus, the generation of electron-hole pairs. The AM1.5G solar spectrum was taken to represent the incident solar flux. Next, the drift-diffusion equations were solved for the steady-state electron and hole densities.Numerical results indicate that a corrugated back reflector of a period of 600 nm is optimal for photon absorption when the In ξ Ga 1−ξ N layer is homogeneous. The efficiency of a solar cell with a periodically nonhomogeneous In ξ Ga 1−ξ N layer may be higher by as much as 26.8% compared to the analogous solar cell with a homogeneous In ξ Ga 1−ξ N layer. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced efficiency of Schottky-barrier solar cell with periodically nonhomogeneous indium gallium nitride layer

2017

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“…However, the dye-sensitized solar cells which were prepared from the TiO 2 /Ag electrodes with the Ag nanoparticle sizes bigger than 19.16 nm have low values of the J SC . It is believed that with the Ag particle sizes bigger than 19.16 nm, Schottky barriers formed at the TiO 2 /Ag contacts become dominant and retard electron transport in the conduction bands [1,3,37,38]. Figure 7 plots J SC , V OC , FF, and efficiencies versus the sizes of the Ag nanoparticles.…”

Section: The Effect Of the Ag Nanoparticle Size On Efficiency Of The mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Silver Nanoparticle Size on Efficiency Enhancement of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Photiphitak

Rakkwamsuk

Muthitamongkol

et al. 2011

International Journal of Photoenergy

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Titanium dioxide/silver (TiO2/Ag) composite films were prepared by incorporating Ag in pores of mesoporous TiO2films using a photoreduction method. The Ag nanoparticle sizes were in a range of 4.36–38.56 nm. The TiO2/Ag composite films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TiO2and TiO2/Ag composite films were then sensitized by immersing in a 0.3 mM N719 dye solution and fabricated for conventional dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs).J-Vcharacteristics of the TiO2/Ag DSCs showed that the Ag nanoparticle size of 19.16 nm resulted in the short circuit current density and efficiency of 8.12 mA/cm2and 4.76%.

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“…These problems are exacerbated by p-doping of In ξ Ga 1-ξ N [7]. Solar cells can be designed to use an in-built potential provided by a Schottky-barrier junction, which can occur at a metal/semiconductor interface [8,9]. By partnering n-doped In ξ Ga 1-ξ N with a metal possessing a large work function Φ-as opposed to, say, employing the more usual p-i-n junction-the problems associated with p-doping of the material are avoided.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of nonhomogeneous indium-gallium-nitride Schottky-barrier thin-film solar cells

2018

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A two-dimensional model was developed to simulate the optoelectronic characteristics of indium-gallium-nitride (In ξ Ga 1-ξ N), thin-film, Schottky-barrier solar cells. The solar cells comprise a window, designed to reduce the reflection of incident light, Schottky-barrier and ohmic front electrodes, an n-doped In ξ Ga 1-ξ N wafer, and a metallic periodically corrugated backreflector (PCBR). The ratio of indium to gallium in the wafer varies periodically throughout the thickness of the absorbing layer of the solar cell. Thus, the resulting In ξ Ga 1-ξ N wafer's optical and electrical properties are made to vary periodically. This material nonhomogeneity could be physically achieved by varying the fractional composition of indium and gallium during deposition. Empirical models for indium nitride and gallium nitride were combined using Vegard's law to determine the optical and electrical constitutive properties of the alloy. The nonhomogeneity of the electrical properties of the In ξ Ga 1-ξ N aids in the separation of the excited electron-hole pairs, while the periodicities of optical properties and the back-reflector enable the incident light to couple to multiple guided wave modes. The profile of the resulting charge-carrier-generation rate when the solar cell is illuminated by the AM1.5G spectrum was calculated using the rigorous coupled-wave approach. The steady-state drift-diffusion equations were solved using COMSOL, which employs finite-volume methods, to calculate the current density as a function of the voltage. Mid-band Shockley-Read-Hall, Auger, and radiative recombination rates were taken to be the dominant methods of recombination. The model was used to study the effects of the solar-cell geometry and the shape of the periodic material nonhomogeneity on efficiency. The solar-cell efficiency was optimized using the differential evolution algorithm.

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The role of the interfacial layer in Schottky barrier solar cells

Cited by 22 publications

References 4 publications

Enhanced efficiency of Schottky-barrier solar cell with periodically nonhomogeneous indium gallium nitride layer

Enhanced efficiency of Schottky-barrier solar cell with periodically nonhomogeneous indium gallium nitride layer

Effect of Silver Nanoparticle Size on Efficiency Enhancement of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Optimization of nonhomogeneous indium-gallium-nitride Schottky-barrier thin-film solar cells

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