Thermal emissivity of silicon heterojunction solar cells

Alonso-Álvarez, D., Augusto, A., Pearce, P., Ferre Llin, L., Mellor, A., Bowden, S., Paul, D.J. and Ekins-Daukes, N. (2019) Thermal emissivity of silicon heterojunction solar cells. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 201, 110051. (doi: 10.1016/j.solmat.2019.110051)

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Abstract

The aim of this work is to evaluate whether silicon heterojunction solar cells, lacking highly emissive, heavily doped silicon layers, could be better candidates for hybrid photovoltaic thermal collectors than standard aluminium-diffused back contact solar cells. To this end, the near and mid infrared emissivity of full silicon heterojunction solar cells, as well as of its constituent materials – crystalline silicon wafer, indium tin oxide, n-, i- and p-type amorphous silicon – have been assessed by means of ellipsometry and FTIR. The experimental results show that the thermal emissivity of these cells is actually as high as in the more traditional structures, ~80% at 8 μm. Detailed optical modelling combining raytracing and transfer matrix formalism shows that the emissivity in these cells originates in the transparent conductive oxide layers themselves, where the doping is not high enough to result in a reflection that exceeds the increased free carrier absorption. Further modelling suggests that it is possible to obtain lower emissivity solar cells, but that a careful optimization of the transparent conductive layer needs to be done to avoid hindering the photovoltaic performance.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:A. Mellor was supported by the European Commission through Marie Sklodowska Curie International Fellowship, Grant No. DLV-657359. P. Pearce would like to acknowledge EPSRC CASE sponsorship from IQE plc. This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy under NSF CA No. EEC-1041895.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Ferre Llin, Dr Lourdes and Paul, Professor Douglas
Authors: Alonso-Álvarez, D., Augusto, A., Pearce, P., Ferre Llin, L., Mellor, A., Bowden, S., Paul, D.J., and Ekins-Daukes, N.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
Journal Name:Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0927-0248
ISSN (Online):1879-3398
Published Online:11 July 2019
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V.
First Published:First published in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 201:110051
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
688481Plasmonic PhotovoltaicsDouglas PaulEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)EP/M025012/1ENG - ENGINEERING ELECTRONICS & NANO ENG