Energies

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Pham Duy Phong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
Interests: thin film solar cells; silicon-based solar cells; semiconductor devices; nano-scale materials; photovoltaic applications

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Guest Editor is inviting contributions for a Special Issue on the topic area of “Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices”. For decades, researchers have reported intensively on advances and achievements in photovoltaic and semiconductor devices. Efforts have been concentrated to date on developing low-cost, high-efficiency devices for market competitiveness. The goals necessitate that scientists continually discover advanced materials and technologies. This Special Issue addresses the latest advances and/or innovations in semiconductor materials and technologies such as solar cells, transistors, diodes, sensors, etc. Original research or review papers based on both modeling and experimental studies are encouraged.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

Silicon-based solar cells;
Multijunction photovoltaic devices;
Thin film transistors;
Thin film solar cells;
Hybrid solar cells;
Technologies: passivating contact, carrier selective contact, interdigitated back contact, and so on;
Antireflection coatings and transparent conducting oxides.

Prof. Dr. Pham Duy Phong
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. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.

Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.

Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.

External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.

e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 3191 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Three-Step Process for Efficient Solar Cells with Boron-Doped Passivated Contacts

by Saman Sharbaf Kalaghichi, Jan Hoß, Jonathan Linke, Stefan Lange and Jürgen H. Werner

Energies 2024, 17(6), 1319; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17061319 - 9 Mar 2024

Viewed by 1445

Abstract

Crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells with passivation stacks consisting of a polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) layer and a thin interfacial silicon dioxide (SiO₂) layer show high conversion efficiencies. Since the poly-Si layer in this structure acts as a carrier transport layer, high doping of the poly-Si layer is crucial for high conductivity and the efficient transport of charge carriers from the bulk to a metal contact. In this respect, conventional furnace-based high-temperature doping methods are limited by the solid solubility of the dopants in silicon. This limitation particularly affects p-type doping using boron. Previously, we showed that laser activation overcomes this limitation by melting the poly-Si layer, resulting in an active concentration beyond the solubility limit after crystallization. High electrically active boron concentrations ensure low contact resistivity at the (contact) metal/semiconductor interface and allow for the maskless patterning of the poly-Si layer by providing an etch-stop layer in an alkaline solution. However, the high doping concentration degrades during long high-temperature annealing steps. Here, we performed a test of the stability of such a high doping concentration under thermal stress. The active boron concentration shows only a minor reduction during SiN_x:H deposition at a moderate temperature and a fast-firing step at a high temperature and with a short exposure time. However, for an annealing time

t_{anneal}

= 30 min and an annealing temperature 600 °C ≤

T_{anneal}

≤ 1000 °C, the high conductivity is significantly reduced, whereas a high passivation quality requires annealing in this range. We resolve this dilemma by introducing a second, healing laser reactivation step, which re-establishes the original high conductivity of the boron-doped poly-Si and does not degrade the passivation. After a thermal annealing temperature

T_{anneal}

= 985 °C, the reactivated layers show high sheet conductance (G_sh) with G_sh = 24 mS sq and high passivation quality, with the implied open-circuit voltage (iV_OC) reaching iV_OC = 715 mV. Therefore, our novel three-step process consisting of laser activation, thermal annealing, and laser reactivation/healing is suitable for fabricating highly efficient solar cells with p⁺⁺-poly-Si/SiO₂ contact passivation layers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 2537 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Unveiling the Future of Insulator Coatings: Unmatched Corrosion Resistance and Self-Healing Properties of PFPE Lubricating Oil-Infused Hydrophobized CeO₂ Surfaces

by Simpy Sanyal, Xinyi Fan, Suresh Kumar Dhungel, Duy Phong Pham and Junsin Yi

Energies 2023, 16(14), 5271; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16145271 - 10 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1202

Abstract

Corrosion accounts for 52% of the recorded breakdown of insulators utilized in transmission lines, which may interfere with the reliability of power utilities. The CeO₂ conversion coating, CeO₂-ethylene propylene diene monomer, EPDM composite coating, and Perfluoropolyether PFPE lubricating oil-infused hydrophobized CeO₂ composite surfaces were developed on the insulator surface to address these challenges. The properties of these three kinds of structures are compared based on the persistence of coating over insulators installed in a highly contaminated environment. PFPE lubricating oil-infused hydrophobized CeO₂ composite surfaces show excellent performance over other approaches. A lubricating oil-infused hydrophobized CeO₂ composite of thickness 35.4 µm exhibits contact angles 60°, 85°, and 160°, and contact angle hysteresis of 12°, 10°, and 4°, respectively, after accelerated thermal aging. The proposed approach presents self-healing and corrosion resistance (corrosion rate 0.3 × 10⁻³ mm/Y, I_corr 1.2 × 10⁻⁷), post-accelerated thermal aging. The research outcome is expected to pave the way for incredibly robust insulator coatings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Advanced Materials and Technologies for Solar Cells and Semiconductor Devices

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI