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Micromachines
Special Issues
Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices
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Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "D：Materials and Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2023) | Viewed by 8190

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Hugo Aguas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Interests: materials; photovoltaics; thin-film silicon; perovskites; microfluidics; SERS; biosensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photovoltaics and photonics are important key technologies to enable the achievement of a greener and more sustainable future for our society, given our primary dependence on energy to sustain a good quality of life.

The novel understanding of the physical phenomena underlying light–matter interactions and propagation within materials could bridge the gap towards understanding the major goal of the energy green deal.

Indeed, recent developments in the field have brought the efficiency of many solar cell technologies closer to the theoretical maximum value, particularly by being able to capture (and trap) more light in a wider spectral range by reducing recombination occurrence and decreasing the contact resistance.

This Special Issue aims to collect and present manuscripts discussing the latest developments concerning materials and techniques that boost solar cells’ efficiency independently of their base materials.

We invite submissions of experimental and theoretical research related, but not limited to, the following topics:

  1. Photonics for solar cells;
  2. Light-managing systems;
  3. Passivation techniques;
  4. Multi-band solar cells;
  5. Quantum-dot solar cells;
  6. Thin-film solar cells;
  7. Up-and-down converters;
  8. Transparent conductive materials;
  9. New materials for solar cells;
  10. Novel configurations;
  11. Light-coupler and focusing devices;
  12. Nanophotonics, meta-surfaces, and device designs.

Dr. Hugo Aguas
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 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. Micromachines 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
  • photovoltaics
  • thin films
  • photonics

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

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3881 KiB  
Article
Ultra-High Concentration Vertical Homo-Multijunction Solar Cells for CubeSats and Terrestrial Applications
by Ahmad A. Abushattal, Antonio García Loureiro and Nour El I. Boukortt
Micromachines 2024, 15(2), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15020204 - 29 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2707
Abstract
This paper examines advances in ultra-high concentration photovoltaics (UHCPV), focusing specifically on vertical multijunction (VMJ) solar cells. The use of gallium arsenide (GaAs) in these cells increases their efficiency in a range of applications, including terrestrial and space settings. Several multijunction structures are [...] Read more.
This paper examines advances in ultra-high concentration photovoltaics (UHCPV), focusing specifically on vertical multijunction (VMJ) solar cells. The use of gallium arsenide (GaAs) in these cells increases their efficiency in a range of applications, including terrestrial and space settings. Several multijunction structures are designed to maximize conversion efficiency, including a vertical tunnel junction, which minimizes resistive losses at high concentration levels compared with standard designs. Therefore, careful optimization of interconnect layers in terms of thickness and doping concentration is needed. Homo-multijunction GaAs solar cells have been simulated and analyzed by using ATLAS Silvaco 5.36 R, a sophisticated technology computer-aided design (TCAD) tool aimed to ensure the reliability of simulation by targeting a high conversion efficiency and a good fill factor for our proposed structure model. Several design parameters, such as the dimensional cell structure, doping density, and sun concentrations, have been analyzed to improve device performance under direct air mass conditions AM1.5D. The optimized conversion efficiency of 30.2% has been achieved with investigated GaAs solar cell configuration at maximum concentration levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices)
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11 pages, 3544 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Photoluminescence and Prolonged Carrier Lifetime through Laser Radiation Hardening and Self-Healing in Aged MAPbBr3 Perovskites Encapsulated in NiO Nanotubes
by Steve Kamau, Roberto Gonzalez Rodriguez, Yan Jiang, Araceli Herrera Mondragon, Sinto Varghese, Noah Hurley, Anupama Kaul, Jingbiao Cui and Yuankun Lin
Micromachines 2023, 14(9), 1706; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14091706 - 31 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1471
Abstract
Organic-inorganic perovskites hold great promise as optoelectronic semiconductors for pure color light emitting and photovoltaic devices. However, challenges persist regarding their photostability and chemical stability, which limit their extensive applications. This paper investigates the laser radiation hardening and self-healing-induced properties of aged MAPbBr [...] Read more.
Organic-inorganic perovskites hold great promise as optoelectronic semiconductors for pure color light emitting and photovoltaic devices. However, challenges persist regarding their photostability and chemical stability, which limit their extensive applications. This paper investigates the laser radiation hardening and self-healing-induced properties of aged MAPbBr3 perovskites encapsulated in NiO nanotubes (MAPbBr3@NiO) using photoluminescence (PL) and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM). After deliberately subjecting the MAPbBr3@ NiO to atmospheric conditions for two years, the sample remains remarkably stable. It exhibits no changes in PL wavelength during UV laser irradiation and self-healing. Furthermore, exposure to UV light at 375 nm enhances the PL of the self-healed MAPbBr3@NiO. FLIM analysis sheds light on the mechanism behind photodegradation, self-healing, and PL enhancement. The results indicate the involvement of many carrier-trapping states with low lifetime events and an increase in peak lifetime after self-healing. The formation of trapping states at the perovskite/nanotube interface is discussed and tested. This study provides new insights into the dynamics of photo-carriers during photodegradation and self-healing in organic-inorganic perovskites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices)
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16 pages, 5222 KiB  
Article
Enhanced Optical Management in Organic Solar Cells by Virtue of Square-Lattice Triple Core-Shell Nanostructures
by Pavithra Gattu Subramanyam, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Koushik Guha, Jacopo Iannacci, Eze Nicholas Ude and Venkatesha Muniswamy
Micromachines 2023, 14(8), 1574; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14081574 - 9 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1617
Abstract
This research focuses on enhancing the optical efficacy of organic photovoltaic cells, specifically their optical absorbance and electrical parameters. The absorbance of photons in organic solar cells (OSCs) was studied by incorporating an optical space layer and triple core-shell square-lattice nanostructures. For better [...] Read more.
This research focuses on enhancing the optical efficacy of organic photovoltaic cells, specifically their optical absorbance and electrical parameters. The absorbance of photons in organic solar cells (OSCs) was studied by incorporating an optical space layer and triple core-shell square-lattice nanostructures. For better chemical and thermal stability, a dielectric-metal-dielectric nanoparticle can be replaced for embedded metallic nanoparticles in the absorption layer. The 3D (finite-difference time-domain) FDTD method was used to analyze the absorption and field distribution in OSCs using 3D model morphology. Firstly, an optimization of thickness of the optical spacer layer was analyzed and secondly, the impact of adding triple core-shell nanostructures at different levels of an OSC were studied. The photovoltaic properties such as short circuit current density, power conversion efficiency, fill factor, Voc were investigated. The proposed design has demonstrated an improvement of up to 80% in the absorption of light radiation in the photoactive region (donor or acceptor) of OSCs in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 900 nm when compared with that of nanostructures proposed at various layers of OSC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices)
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14 pages, 6275 KiB  
Article
Development and Analysis of Graphene-Sheet-Based GaAs Schottky Solar Cell for Enriched Efficiency
by L. Kholee Phimu, Rudra Sankar Dhar, Khomdram Jolson Singh and Amit Banerjee
Micromachines 2023, 14(6), 1226; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14061226 - 10 Jun 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1658
Abstract
Comparative studies of the 2D numerical modelling and simulation of graphene-based gallium arsenide and silicon Schottky junction solar cell are studied using TCAD tools. The performance of photovoltaic cells was examined while taking parameters, such as substrate thickness, relationship between transmittance and work [...] Read more.
Comparative studies of the 2D numerical modelling and simulation of graphene-based gallium arsenide and silicon Schottky junction solar cell are studied using TCAD tools. The performance of photovoltaic cells was examined while taking parameters, such as substrate thickness, relationship between transmittance and work function of graphene, and n-type doing concentration of substrate semiconduction. The area with the highest efficiency for photogenerated carriers was found to be located near the interface region under light illumination. The significant enhancement of power conversion efficiency was shown in the cell with a thicker carrier absorption Si substrate layer, larger graphene work function, and average doping in a silicon substrate. Thus, for improved cell structure, the maximum JSC = 4.7 mA/cm2, VOC = 0.19 V, and fill factor = 59.73% are found under AM1.5G, exhibiting maximum efficiency of 6.5% (1 sun). The EQE of the cell is well above 60%. This work reports the influence of different substrate thickness, work function, and N-type doping on the efficiency and characteristics of graphene-based Schottky solar cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Photovoltaic and Photonic Materials-Based Devices)
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