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Advances in Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications
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Advances in Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 32290

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Lucia V Mercaldo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development), Portici Research Center, Piazzale E. Fermi 1, 80055 Portici (Na), Italy
Interests: photovoltaics; Si heterojunction solar cells; perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells; thin-film Si solar cells; perovskite solar cells; Si nanostructures; light management in solar cells

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photovoltaics (PV) is one of the major players for the transition to a sustainable energy future. The numbers give evidence of mature technologies and continuous progress of the PV industry: More than 100 GW of new PV power capacity was installed worldwide in 2018, making for over 500 GW total cumulative capacity at the end of the year. Alongside, research at solar cell level is active on many fronts to find more efficient and cost-effective solutions: high efficiency c-Si solar cell concepts (a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction, novel carrier-selective passivating contact schemes, etc.), thin-film technologies (hybrid perovskites, CIGS, CdTe, CZTS, III-V compounds, etc.), and tandem approaches combining c-Si and thin-film technologies to overcome the single-junction efficiency limit. In many cases, efficiencies in excess of 20% have been demonstrated. Ultimately, all these solar cell versions are stacked structures where thin films are widely employed with different roles, such as carrier selective contacts, passivation layers, electrodes (opaque and transparent), components with optical functionalities for efficient management of sunlight, or even as the core light-absorber (thin-film PV). Strong efforts are placed on improving layers and interfaces within the multilayered devices. Supplementary functional, protective, and decorative coatings both at cell and module level are also being investigated to improve performance, stability, and aesthetics of PV devices and ultimately of PV products.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect and share the latest progress in terms of properties, fabrication processes, mechanisms, and applications of this broad variety of thin films for PV (active layers, supportive layers, and external coatings) in all the technologies under investigation and development. Full papers, communications, and reviews related to these topics are all welcome.

Dr. Lucia V Mercaldo
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. Coatings 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
  • Thin-film photovoltaics
  • Crystalline silicon photovoltaics
  • Multi-junction devices
  • High efficiency
  • Carrier selective contacts
  • Light management
  • Nanostructured materials
  • Large area modules
  • Functional, protective and decorative coatings

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 1612 KiB  
Communication
Potassium Acetate-Based Treatment for Thermally Co-Evaporated Perovskite Solar Cells
by Jia Li, Hao Wang, Herlina Arianita Dewi, Nripan Mathews, Subodh Mhaisalkar and Annalisa Bruno
Coatings 2020, 10(12), 1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10121163 - 28 Nov 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3678
Abstract
Thermal evaporation is a very successful and widely adopted coating technique for the deposition of organic and inorganic materials on rough and textured surfaces and over large areas. Indeed, this technique is extensively used in the semiconductor industry for the fabrication of organic [...] Read more.
Thermal evaporation is a very successful and widely adopted coating technique for the deposition of organic and inorganic materials on rough and textured surfaces and over large areas. Indeed, this technique is extensively used in the semiconductor industry for the fabrication of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and is commonly used in displays. In the last few years, thermal evaporated perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have also shown the potential to reach high power conversion efficiency (PCE) both on small and over large area devices. In this work, we present a detailed optimization of the potassium-based surface treatment used to improve the performances of our MAPbI3 PSCs fabricated using the thermal co-evaporation technique. Small area planar n-i-p PSCs with an active area of 0.16 cm2 achieved PCEs above 19% and the large area PSCs with an active area of 1 cm2 reached 18.1%. These un-encapsulated PSCs also proved an excellent long-term shelf stability maintaining 90% of their initial PCEs for over six months when stored at ambient temperature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications)
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9 pages, 2454 KiB  
Article
Towards Quantitative Interpretation of Fourier-Transform Photocurrent Spectroscopy on Thin-Film Solar Cells
by Jakub Holovský, Michael Stuckelberger, Tomáš Finsterle, Brianna Conrad, Amalraj Peter Amalathas, Martin Müller and Franz-Josef Haug
Coatings 2020, 10(9), 820; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10090820 - 25 Aug 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2686
Abstract
The method of detecting deep defects in photovoltaic materials by Fourier-Transform Photocurrent Spectroscopy has gone through continuous development during the last two decades. Still, giving quantitative predictions of photovoltaic device performance is a challenging task. As new materials appear, a prediction of potentially [...] Read more.
The method of detecting deep defects in photovoltaic materials by Fourier-Transform Photocurrent Spectroscopy has gone through continuous development during the last two decades. Still, giving quantitative predictions of photovoltaic device performance is a challenging task. As new materials appear, a prediction of potentially achievable open-circuit voltage with respect to bandgap is highly desirable. From thermodynamics, a prediction can be made based on the radiative limit, neglecting non-radiative recombination and carrier transport effects. Beyond this, more accurate analysis has to be done. First, the absolute defect density has to be calculated, taking into account optical effects, such as absorption enhancement, due to scattering. Secondly, the electrical effect of thickness variation has to be addressed. We analyzed a series of state-of-the-art hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells of different thicknesses at different states of light soaking degradation. Based on a combination of empirical results with optical, electrical and thermodynamic simulations, we provide a predictive model of the open-circuit voltage of a device with a given defect density and absorber thickness. We observed that, rather than the defect density or thickness alone, it is their product or the total number of defects, that matters. Alternatively, including defect absorption into the thermodynamic radiative limit gives close upper bounds to the open-circuit voltage with the advantage of a much easier evaluation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications)
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12 pages, 2905 KiB  
Article
Evaporated MoOx as General Back-Side Hole Collector for Solar Cells
by Eugenia Bobeico, Lucia V. Mercaldo, Pasquale Morvillo, Iurie Usatii, Marco Della Noce, Laura Lancellotti, Carmen Sasso, Rosa Ricciardi and Paola Delli Veneri
Coatings 2020, 10(8), 763; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10080763 - 6 Aug 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3336
Abstract
Substoichiometric molybdenum oxide (MoOx) has good potential as a hole-collecting layer in solar cells. In this paper, we report on the application of ultrathin evaporated MoOx as a hole collector at the back side of two distinct photovoltaic technologies: polymeric [...] Read more.
Substoichiometric molybdenum oxide (MoOx) has good potential as a hole-collecting layer in solar cells. In this paper, we report on the application of ultrathin evaporated MoOx as a hole collector at the back side of two distinct photovoltaic technologies: polymeric and silicon heterojunction (SHJ). In the case of polymer solar cells, we test MoOx as a hole transport layer in devices with inverted architecture. The higher transparency of the MoOx film, compared to the commonly used poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), allows an enhanced back reflected light into the photoactive layer, thus boosting the photogeneration, as found from the illuminated J-V and external quantum efficiency (EQE) curves. The higher fill factor (FF) of the MoOx-based device also suggests an improved charge collection efficiency compared to the cells with PEDOT:PSS. As for SHJ solar cells, we show that MoOx offers the means for dopant-free hole collection with both p-type and n-type Si wafers. In the present comparison over planar test structures with Ag back reflecting electrodes, we observe an efficiency gain of approximately 1% absolute against a baseline with a conventional p-type amorphous silicon hole collector. The gain is linked to the increased VOC, which is likely due to the reduced recombination at the Si wafer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications)
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13 pages, 1876 KiB  
Article
Versatility of Nanocrystalline Silicon Films: from Thin-Film to Perovskite/c-Si Tandem Solar Cell Applications
by Luana Mazzarella, Anna B. Morales-Vilches, Lars Korte, Rutger Schlatmann and Bernd Stannowski
Coatings 2020, 10(8), 759; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10080759 - 3 Aug 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5111
Abstract
Doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline (nc-Si:H) and silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) materials grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition have favourable optoelectronic properties originated from their two-phase structure. This unique combination of qualities, initially, led to the development of thin-film Si solar cells allowing the [...] Read more.
Doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline (nc-Si:H) and silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) materials grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition have favourable optoelectronic properties originated from their two-phase structure. This unique combination of qualities, initially, led to the development of thin-film Si solar cells allowing the fabrication of multijunction devices by tailoring the material bandgap. Furthermore, nanocrystalline silicon films can offer a better carrier transport and field-effect passivation than amorphous Si layers could do, and this can improve the carrier selectivity in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. The reduced parasitic absorption, due to the lower absorption coefficient of nc-SiOx:H films in the relevant spectral range, leads to potential gain in short circuit current. In this work, we report on development and applications of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon oxide (nc-SiOx:H) from material to device level. We address the potential benefits and the challenges for a successful integration in SHJ solar cells. Finally, we prove that nc-SiOx:H demonstrated clear advantages for maximizing the infrared response of c-Si bottom cells in combination with perovskite top cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications)
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16 pages, 4458 KiB  
Article
Ultrathin Nano-Absorbers in Photovoltaics: Prospects and Innovative Applications
by Maximilian Götz, Norbert Osterthun, Kai Gehrke, Martin Vehse and Carsten Agert
Coatings 2020, 10(3), 218; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10030218 - 29 Feb 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4299
Abstract
Approaching the first terawatt of installations, photovoltaics (PV) are about to become the major source of electric power until the mid-century. The technology has proven to be long lasting and very versatile and today PV modules can be found in numerous applications. This [...] Read more.
Approaching the first terawatt of installations, photovoltaics (PV) are about to become the major source of electric power until the mid-century. The technology has proven to be long lasting and very versatile and today PV modules can be found in numerous applications. This is a great success of the entire community, but taking future growth for granted might be dangerous. Scientists have recently started to call for accelerated innovation and cost reduction. Here, we show how ultrathin absorber layers, only a few nanometers in thickness, together with strong light confinement can be used to address new applications for photovoltaics. We review the basics of this new type of solar cell and point out the requirements to the absorber layer material by optical simulation. Furthermore, we discuss innovative applications, which make use of the unique optical properties of the nano absorber solar cell architecture, such as spectrally selective PV and switchable photovoltaic windows. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications)
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Review

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30 pages, 4982 KiB  
Review
The History of Photovoltaics with Emphasis on CdTe Solar Cells and Modules
by Alessio Bosio, Stefano Pasini and Nicola Romeo
Coatings 2020, 10(4), 344; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10040344 - 2 Apr 2020
Cited by 79 | Viewed by 12372
Abstract
Among thin-film photovoltaic technology, cadmium telluride (CdTe) has achieved a truly impressive development that can commercially compete with silicon, which is still the king of the market. Solar cells made on a laboratory scale have reached efficiencies close to 22%, while modules made [...] Read more.
Among thin-film photovoltaic technology, cadmium telluride (CdTe) has achieved a truly impressive development that can commercially compete with silicon, which is still the king of the market. Solar cells made on a laboratory scale have reached efficiencies close to 22%, while modules made with fully automated in-line machines show efficiencies above 18%. This success represents the result of over 40 years of research, which led to effective and consolidated production processes. Based on a large literature survey on photovoltaics and on the results of research developed in our laboratories, we present the fabrication processes of both CdTe polycrystalline thin-film solar cells and photovoltaic modules. The most common substrates, the constituent layers, their interaction, the interfaces and the different “tricks” necessary to obtain highly efficient devices will be analyzed. A realistic industrial production process will be analytically described. Moreover, environmental aspects, end-of-life recycling and the life cycle assessment of CdTe-based modules will be deepened and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Thin Films for Photovoltaic Applications)
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