TESE: Device physics of donor/acceptor-blend solar cells

Device physics of donor/acceptor-blend solar cells

Autor: Koster, Lambert Jan Anton

Faculdade de Ciências
Universidade de Groningen
(http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/)



Harvesting energy directly from the Sun is a very attractive, but not an easy way ofproviding mankind with energy. Efficient, cheap, lightweight, flexible, and environmentallyfriendly solar panels are very desirable. Conjugated polymers bear the potentialof fulfilling these requisites. Due to their unique chemical makeup, these polymers canbe used as optoelectronically active materials, e.g., they can be optically excited and cantransport charge carriers.As compared to inorganic materials, polymers have (at least) one serious drawback:upon light absorption excitons are formed, rather than free charge carriers. A secondmaterial is needed to break up these excitons. A much used way of achieving this is tomix the polymer with a material that readily accepts the electrons, leaving the holes inthe polymer phase. As excitons in the polymer phase only move around for a couple ofnanometers before they decay to the ground state, it is vital to induce a morphology thatis characterized by intimate mixing of both materials (a so-called bulk heterojunction orBHJ)....


Tese disponivel para download:

http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/faculties/science/2007/l.j.a.koster/


Fuente:

http://irs.ub.rug.nl/ppn/299329410

Célula solar tridimensional melhora a eficiência

3D solar cells boost efficiency, reduce size

Unique three-dimensional solar cells that capture nearly all of the light that strikes them could boost the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems while reducing their size, weight and mechanical complexity.

The new 3D solar cells capture photons from sunlight using an array of miniature "tower" structures that resemble high-rise buildings in a city street grid. The cells could find near-term applications for powering spacecraft, and by enabling efficiency improvements in photovoltaic coating materials, could also change the way solar cells are designed for a broad range of applications.

"Our goal is to harvest every last photon that is available to our cells," said Jud Ready, a senior research engineer in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). "By capturing more of the light in our 3D structures, we can use much smaller photovoltaic arrays. On a satellite or other spacecraft, that would mean less weight and less space taken up with the PV system."

Noticia completa:

http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=1337