The US Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory (NREL) and First Photo voltaic used cracked movie lithography (CFL) to create a bifacial cadmium telluride photo voltaic cell with an influence density of 20.3 mW cm−2. They declare the cell has the next bifacial energy density than any polycrystalline absorber at present produced at scale.
NREL and US-based thin-film PV producer First Photo voltaic have constructed a cadmium telluride (CdTe) bifacial photo voltaic cell based mostly on a rear interface buffer made from copper, gallium and monoxide (CuGaOx ). The scientists declare that they’ve achieved the next bifacial energy density than any polycrystalline absorber at present produced at scale. They used cracked movie lithography (CFL)-patterned metallic grids to combine CuGaOx rear interface buffer of the photo voltaic cell.
“Widespread passivating layers, reminiscent of Al2or3 and different oxides, are extremely resistive, should be utilized straight on high of CdTe, and require excessive temperature CdCl2 therapy after they’re deposited,” they mentioned, including that they used CFL to beat this situation. “CFL is a low-cost technique to manufacture metallic microgrids with wonderful properties for high-resistance functions reminiscent of CdTe.”
Researcher Chris Muzzillo mentioned CFLs are notably appropriate for CdTe cells due to their low value. “We discovered that relative to photolithography, CFLs have decrease supplies and gear prices for patterning metallic grids in III-V photovoltaics,” he mentioned. pv journal.
Muzzillo and his crew describe their findings in “Cracked Movie Lithography with CuGaOx Buffers for Bifacial CdTe Photovoltaics,” lately revealed in Nano-Micro Small. In all CFL processes, the metallic is grown straight on the semiconductor floor, leading to high-quality interfaces with low contact resistance and improved stability.
Within the proposed cell configuration, the CuGaOx/ CFL grid samples ‘present larger passivity with their lowered gold (Au) space protection, which in flip ends in the next open circuit voltage for the photo voltaic cell. In addition they assist enhance the system’s fill issue from 70.8% to 73.3%.
“We estimate that the earlier CdTe bifacial report, with 1 solar entrance and rear efficiencies of 12.5% and seven.6%, respectively, will generate 16.3 mW cm-2 of 1 solar entrance + 0.5 solar rear,” mentioned the analysis group. “However, our greatest CFL grid produces 20.3 mW cm-2 at 1 in entrance of the solar + 0.5 behind the solar—a 25% bounce over the bifacial energy density report of CdTe, and at 1 in entrance of the solar + 0.1 behind the solar, our cell has 39% increased energy density.”
Muzzilo mentioned the commercialization of the cell is for consideration.
“In comparison with bifacial silicon, the again effectivity of bifacial CdTe stays comparatively low,” he concluded. “We are going to proceed to work on bettering back and front effectivity, with the aim of demonstrating a excessive sufficient elevated energy density to justify the elevated complexity of the CFL-patterned bifacial CdTe course of.”
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