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Total 23 records

    Circuit Model for Periodic Plasmonic Nanostructures Used as Light-rapping Back-structures in thin Film Solar Cells

    , M.Sc. Thesis Sharif University of Technology Yarmoghaddam, Elahe (Author) ; Mehrany, Khashayar (Supervisor) ; Khavasi, Amin (Co-Advisor)
    Abstract
    In recent years, thin-film photovoltaic cells with thicknesses of less than 1-2 µm have been developed with potentially lower production costs. Due to the small thickness of the absorbing semiconductor in these cells, the absorption is inevitably low at energies close to the electronic band gap of the semiconductor. This is particularly a problem for thin-film devices. Recently، periodic metallic nanostructures supporting surface plasmons have been introduced as alternative solutions to achieve light trapping in thin-film solar cells.Full numerical methods are usually used for the analysis of these periodic structures. The main drawback of these methods is that they are time-consuming and... 

    Self-assembled monolayer of wavelength-scale core-shell particles for low-loss plasmonic and broadband light trapping in solar cells

    , Article ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces ; Volume 8, Issue 1 , 2016 , Pages 247-255 ; 19448244 (ISSN) Dabirian, A ; Malekshahi Byranvand, M ; Naqavi, A ; Nemati Kharat, A ; Taghavinia, N ; Sharif University of Technology
    American Chemical Society 
    Abstract
    Scattering particles constitute a key light trapping solution for thin film photovoltaics where either the particles are embedded in the light absorbing layer or a thick layer of them is used as a reflector. Here we introduce a monolayer of wavelength-scale core-shell silica@Ag particles as a novel light trapping strategy for thin film photovoltaics. These particles show hybrid photonic-plasmonic resonance modes that scatter light strongly and with small parasitic absorption losses in Ag (<1.5%). In addition, their scattering efficiency does not vary significantly with the refractive index of the surrounding medium. A monolayer of these particles is applied as the top-scattering layers in a... 

    Nano-plasmonic thin-film solar cell receiver in visible light communication

    , Article 10th International Symposium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital Signal Processing, 20 July 2016 through 23 July 2016 ; 2016 ; 9781509025268 (ISBN) Ghahremanirad, E ; Olyaee, S ; Chizari, A ; Sharif University of Technology
    Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc 
    Abstract
    We propose a nano-plasmonic thin-film solar cell (TFSC) as a receiver for the visible light communication (VLC). The presented design is a novel and optimized structure that can be used instead of photodetectors and power supplies in the VLC. The plasmonic TFSC that described in this work is capable of increasing the light absorption in comparison with the conventional thick Si solar cell without plasmonic nanostructures. However, plasmonic nanoparticles can improve the absorption of Si solar cell in a visible range of solar spectra. In this paper, different situations for inserting nanoparticles in an active layer are considered and the absorption is calculated as a function of particle... 

    Thermal residual stresses in silicon thin film solar cells under operational cyclic thermal loading: A finite element analysis

    , Article Solar Energy ; Volume 135 , 2016 , Pages 366-373 ; 0038092X (ISSN) Namvar, A ; Dehghany, M ; Sohrabpour, S ; Naghdabadi, R ; Sharif University of Technology
    Elsevier Ltd  2016
    Abstract
    In manufacturing amorphous silicon solar cells, thin films are deposited at high temperatures (200-400 °C) on a thick substrate using sputtering and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) methods. Since the thin films and substrate have different thermal expansion coefficients, cooling the system from deposition temperature to room temperature induces thermal residual stresses in both the films and substrate. In addition, these stresses, especially those having been induced in the amorphous silicon layer can change the carrier mobility and band gap energy of the silicon and consequently affect the solar cell efficiency. In this paper, a 2D finite element model is proposed to... 

    Printable Carbon Electrode for Perovskite & Thin Film Solar Cells

    , Ph.D. Dissertation Sharif University of Technology Mashhoun, Sara (Author) ; Taghavinia, Nima (Supervisor) ; Tajabadi, Fariba (Supervisor) ; Mohammadpour, Raheleh (Supervisor)
    Abstract
    Solar cells, as a part of photovoltaics (PV) industry, have a significant share in the renewable energy market. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and thin film solar cells (TFSCs) achieved 23% and 22% power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) respectively. However, the PV industry still faces challenges like “high manufacturing costs” and “stability”. Among the strategies to overcome these challenges are substitution of the costly materials with cheaper, more abundant ingredients along with utilizing inexpensive deposition methods like printing rather than vacuum-based methods such as evaporation and sputtering. Carbon materials attract more attention in the solar cell research community for their... 

    Investigation of Thermal Stress Effect on The Performance of Thin Film Solar Cells Using Finite Element Method

    , M.Sc. Thesis Sharif University of Technology Namvar, Arman (Author) ; Naghdabadi, Reza (Supervisor) ; Sohrabpour, Saeed (Supervisor)
    Abstract
    Thin film solar cells have low efficiency compared to crystalline silicon solar cells; however, they are low-cost and flexible. In manufacturing these solar cells, thin films are deposited at high temperatures (higher than 200℃) on a thick metal, plastic, or glass substrate using sputtering and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) methods. Since the thin films and substrate have different thermal expansion coefficients, cooling the system from deposition temperature to room temperature induces thermal residual stresses in both the films and substrate. In addition, these stresses, especially those induced in the amorphous silicon layer can change the carrier mobility and band gap... 

    Deposition of Absorber layer of Copper Indium Gallium Di-Selenide with Solution based Method for Solar Cell Applications

    , M.Sc. Thesis Sharif University of Technology Salmani Mashkani, Farid (Author) ; Taghavinia, Nima (Supervisor) ; Dehghani, Mehdi (Supervisor)
    Abstract
    In recent years, the use of thin film solar cells has been widely considered due to the ability of their solution-based coatings. One of these is the chalcopytie solar cell copper indium gallium di-selenide (CIGS). The absorber layer of copper indium gallium diselenide was carried out by a spray pyrolysis method. then by using a chemical bath deposition, a buffer layer was fabricated to form the p-n junction. Subsequently, silver nanoparticles and zinc oxide alumina sputtering were used to form a transparent conductive film. with using the substrate Molybdenum and by optimizing the test conditions, such as temprature and deposition time to adjust thickness of layers, Cell with an... 

    Totally solution-processed CuInS2 solar cells based on chloride inks: Reduced metastable phases and improved current density

    , Article Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics ; Volume 48, Issue 11 , March , 2015 , pp. 115304-115311 ; 00223727 (ISSN) Dehghani, M ; Behjat, A ; Tajabadi, F ; Taghavinia, N ; Sharif University of Technology
    Institute of Physics Publishing  2015
    Abstract
    Planar superstrate CuInS2 (CIS) solar cell devices are fabricated using totally solution-processed deposition methods. These Cd-free devices are structured by FTO/TiO2/In2S3/CIS/carbon, where TiO2 and In2S3 are deposited by spray pyrolysis, and a CIS film is deposited using spin-coating followed by annealing at 250 °C. The pasted carbon layer is utilized as the anode. No further sulfurization or selenization is employed. The Cu/In ratio in the ink is found as a critical factor affecting the morphology and crystallinity of the film as well as the photovoltaic performance of the device. An optimum Cu/In = 1.05 results in large-grain films with sharp diffraction peaks and, subsequently, optimal... 

    Micron-scale rod-like scattering particles for light trapping in nanostructured thin film solar cells

    , Article RSC Advances ; Volume 5, Issue 105 , 2015 , Pages 86050-86055 ; 20462069 (ISSN) Malekshahi Byranvand, M ; Taghavinia, N ; Nemati Kharat, A ; Dabirian, A ; Sharif University of Technology
    Royal Society of Chemistry  2015
    Abstract
    Spherical dielectric particles, nanofibers, and nanorods have been widely used as embedded scattering objects in nanostructured thin film solar cells. Here we propose micron-scale rod-like dielectric particles as a more effective alternative to the spherical ones for light trapping in thin film solar cells. The superior performance of these micro-rods is attributed to their larger scattering efficiency relative to the spherical particles as evidenced by full-wave optical calculations. Using a one-pot process, 1.7 μm-long bullet-shaped silica rods with 330 nm diameter are synthesized and their concentration in a N719-sensitized solar cell is optimized. A solar cell with an optimal... 

    Fabrication and Characterization of Cu2SnS3 and Cu2ZnSnS(e)4 Absorber Layers by Spray Pyrolysis Method

    , M.Sc. Thesis Sharif University of Technology Gharabeiki, Sevan (Author) ; Mahdavi, Mohammad (Supervisor)
    Abstract
    The Cu2ZnSnS(e)4 (CZTS(e)) quaternary and Cu2SnS3 (CTS) ternary componds with suitable optical and electrical properties have been considered as an emerging semiconductors for fabrication of thin-fim solar cells. So far, two technologies based on CdTe and CuInGaS(e)2 absorbers have achived efficiencies above 20%. However, these compounds contain toxic element Cd and rare elements such as In and Ga which, limited the development of these solar cells.In this research a 3-stage method was used for fabrication of CZTS(e) thin Films. In the first stage, CTS layers were deposited by spray pyrolysis method, in the second one, ZnS layers were also deposited on CTS layers by spray pyrolysis method... 

    One-pot thermolysis synthesis of CuInS2 nanoparticles with chalcopyrite-wurtzite polytypism structure

    , Article Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics ; Volume 26, Issue 11 , November , 2015 , Pages 8960-8972 ; 09574522 (ISSN) Vahidshad, Y ; Tahir, M. N ; Mirkazemi, S. M ; Iraji Zad, A ; Ghasemzadeh, R ; Tremel, W ; Sharif University of Technology
    Springer New York LLC  2015
    Abstract
    CuInS2 nanoparticles as the visible (wurtzite, 1.67 eV) or near infrared (chalcopyrite, 1.50 eV) light absorbing material in thin film solar cells, were synthesized using facile, one step heating up method by dissolving of CuCl, InCl3 and SC(NH2)2 as precursors in oleylamine (OLA) alone or in combination with oleic acid (OA) and 1-octadecene (ODE) as solvent. The phase, size, morphology, and size distribution were controlled by the coordination ability between solvent molecules and metal precursors, reaction temperature and time. The presence of higher amounts of thiourea or OA to OLA led to the formation of chalcopyrite phase in comparison to wurtzite structure. Also, higher reaction... 

    Theoretical study of light trapping in nanostructured thin film solar cells using wavelength-scale silver particles

    , Article ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces ; Volume 7, Issue 27 , July , 2015 , Pages 14926-14932 ; 19448244 (ISSN) Dabirian, A ; Taghavinia, N ; Sharif University of Technology
    American Chemical Society  2015
    Abstract
    We propose and theoretically evaluate a plasmonic light trapping solution for thin film photovoltaic devices that comprises a monolayer or a submonolayer of wavelength-scale silver particles. We systematically study the effect of silver particle size using full-wave electromagnetic simulations. We find that light trapping is significantly enhanced when wavelength-scale silver particles rather than the ones with subwavelength dimensions are used. We demonstrate that a densely packed monolayer of spherical 700 nm silver particles enhances integrated optical absorption under standard air mass 1.5 global (AM1.5G) in a 7 μm-thick N719-sensitized solar cell by 40% whereas enhancement is smaller... 

    Fabrication of selenization-free superstrate-type CuInS2 solar cells based on all-spin-coated layers

    , Article Materials Chemistry and Physics ; Volume 186 , 2017 , Pages 446-455 ; 02540584 (ISSN) Cheshme khavar, A. H ; Mahjoub, A ; Samghabadi, F. S ; Taghavinia, N ; Sharif University of Technology
    Elsevier Ltd  2017
    Abstract
    Today manufacturing of high efficiency chalcogenide thin film solar cells is based on high cost vacuum-based deposition processes at high temperature (>500 °C) and in chalcogen -containing atmosphere. In this paper, we introduce a simple vacuum-free and selenization-free, solution processing for fabricating a superstrate-type CuInS2 (CIS) solar cell. The absorber, buffer and blocking layers were all deposited by spin coating of molecular precursor inks. We demonstrate the deposition of In2S3 buffer layer by sol-gel spin casting for the first time. The rapid sintering process of CIS layer was carried out at 250 °C that is considered a very low temperature in CIGS thin-film technologies. A... 

    Resolving a critical instability in perovskite solar cells by designing a scalable and printable carbon based electrode-interface architecture

    , Article Advanced Energy Materials ; Volume 8, Issue 31 , 2018 ; 16146832 (ISSN) Mashhoun, S ; Hou, Y ; Chen, H ; Tajabadi, F ; Taghavinia, N ; Egelhaaf, H. J ; Brabec, C. J ; Sharif University of Technology
    Wiley-VCH Verlag  2018
    Abstract
    Thin-film solar cells based on hybrid organo-halide lead perovskites achieve over 22% power conversion efficiency (PCE). A photovoltaic technology at such high performance is no longer limited by efficiency. Instead, lifetime and reliability become the decisive criteria for commercialization. This requires a standardized and scalable architecture which does fulfill all requirements for larger area solution processing. One of the most highly demanded technologies is a low temperature and printable conductive ink to substitute evaporated metal electrodes for the top contact. Importantly, that electrode technology must have higher environmental stability than, for instance, an evaporated silver... 

    Potential application of CuSbS2 as the hole transport material in perovskite solar cell: a simulation study

    , Article Superlattices and Microstructures ; Volume 118 , 2018 , Pages 116-122 ; 07496036 (ISSN) Teimouri, R ; Mohammadpour, R ; Sharif University of Technology
    Academic Press  2018
    Abstract
    CH3 NH3 PbI3 (MAPbI3) thin film solar cells, which are reported at laboratory efficiency scale of nearly 22%, are the subject of much attention by energy researchers due to their low cost buildup, acceptable efficiency, high absorption coefficient and diffusion length. The main purpose of this research is to simulate the structure of thin film perovskite solar cells through numerical simulation of SCAPS based on the empirical data for different hole transport layers. After simulating the initial structure of FTO/TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/Spiro-OMeTAD solar cell, the hole transport layer Spiro-OMeTAD thickness was optimized on a small scale using modeling. The researchers also sought to reduce the... 

    Modeling of J sc and V oc versus the grain size in CdTe, CZTS and Perovskite thin film solar cells

    , Article Superlattices and Microstructures ; Volume 128 , 2019 , Pages 421-427 ; 07496036 (ISSN) Nazem, H ; Pourasiab Dizaj, H ; Gorji, N. E ; Sharif University of Technology
    Academic Press  2019
    Abstract
    A modeling approach is presented for the first time to model the dependence of short-circuit current density (J sc ) and open-circuit voltage (V oc ) on the grain size g in three thin film solar cells including the emerging perovskites. The variation of J sc and V oc with the grain size (g) of three different solar cells with CdTe, CZTS and perovskite absorber layers are modelled and fitted with the experimental dataset collected from relevant literature. The experimental literature suggested that the grain size of absorber layers in solar cells is controlled during the deposition process by adjusting the growth rate, temperature and ambient. The model has been successfully applied to the... 

    A novel low-temperature growth of uniform CuInS2 thin films and their application in selenization/sulfurization-free CuInS2 solar cells

    , Article Materials Today Communications ; Volume 26 , 2021 ; 23524928 (ISSN) Dehghani, M ; Parvazian, E ; Alamgir Tehrani, N ; Taghavinia, N ; Samadpour, M ; Sharif University of Technology
    Elsevier Ltd  2021
    Abstract
    In terms of manufacturability, there is a high tendency to deposit light-absorbing CuInS2 films by solution processing methods like ink-based depositions. In particular, for nanoparticle inks, the synthesis of highly dispersed and stable inks, with uniformity in the deposition process, is a serious challenge. Here, we demonstrate a novel two-step low-temperature CuInS2 film deposition method in which the In2S3 is deposited first. It then partially is converted into CuInS2 through the infiltration of Cu+ ions in the In2S3 layer in a dip-coating process. The resulting films are highly uniform, with diffraction peaks indicating the formation of pure CuInS2 phase. The proper stoichiometry of... 

    Engineering of CIGS nanoparticle inks for colloidal stability, uniform film formation and application as HTL for perovskite solar cells

    , Article Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry ; 2021 ; 1226086X (ISSN) Khosroshahi, R ; Tehrani, N. A ; Forouzandeh, M ; Behrouznejad, F ; Taghavinia, N ; Bagherzadeh, M ; Sharif University of Technology
    Korean Society of Industrial Engineering Chemistry  2021
    Abstract
    In this work, synthesis of CuIn0.75Ga0.25S2 (CIGS) nanoparticles, the formation of stable dispersion, deposition of high-quality films and, fabrication of thin-film Perovskite solar cells are reported. The stability of nanoparticle ink is crucial in the formation of device-quality films. The chalcogenide-based materials are widely used in thin-film solar cells; in particular, Cu(In,Ga)S2 are used as an absorber and hole transporting layer. In the present study, the nanoparticles of about 20 nm size and bandgap of 1.5 eV are synthesized using a heat-up method. A variety of solvents are used as dispersing media and the stability of the inks is evaluated by precise optical monitoring. We... 

    Electrical and optical characterization of sprayed In2S3 thin films as an electron transporting layer in high efficient perovskite solar cells

    , Article Solar Energy ; Volume 215 , 2021 , Pages 356-366 ; 0038092X (ISSN) Hashemi, M ; Minbashi, M ; Ghorashi, S. M. B ; Ghobadi, A ; Ehsani, M. H ; Heidariramsheh, M ; Hajjiah, A ; Sharif University of Technology
    Elsevier Ltd  2021
    Abstract
    This study represents the investigation of In2S3 thin films, which have been deposited with different Indium salts (Chloride, Acetate, and Nitrate) using the Chemical Spray Pyrolysis (CSP) method. The Mott-Schottky analysis has been used in case of studying the electrical properties of films such as conduction and valence band, carrier densities, Fermi level (Efn), flat band potential, and semiconductor type. In the next step, the Rb1MAFA perovskite solar cell has been simulated, and the results have been validated by the experimental data (with the least parameters for fitting). Finally, In2S3 layers have been inserted on the SnO2 layer to decrease the recombination rate and enhance the... 

    Optimization of selenization process to remove Ga-induced pin-holes in CIGS thin films

    , Article Solar Energy ; Volume 236 , 2022 , Pages 175-181 ; 0038092X (ISSN) Khosroshahi, R ; Dehghani, M ; Tehrani, N. A ; Taghavinia, N ; Bagherzadeh, M ; Sharif University of Technology
    Elsevier Ltd  2022
    Abstract
    In thin-film solar cells, deposition of pinhole and the crack-free absorber layer, with the right chemical stoichiometry is highly important for high-performance solar cell devices. In solution-based CIGS solar cell technology, a nanoparticle ink approach provides phase stability of the final chalcogenide absorber layer. However, the sintering of small nanoparticles to form large grains with reduced grain boundaries is an important challenge in the fabrication process. This is usually realized by annealing in the Se atmosphere, i.e. selenization process. However, the presence of Ga in CIGS films leads to pinholes after selenization. In this study, the synthesis and deposition of high-quality...