Abstract
The trade-off between transmittance and conductivity of the front contact material poses a bottleneck for thin film solar panels. Normally, the front contact material is a metal oxide and the optimal cell configuration and panel efficiency were determined for various band gap materials, representing Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS), CdTe and high band gap perovskites. Supplementing the metal oxide with a metallic copper grid improves the performance of the front contact and aims to increase the efficiency. Various front contact designs with and without a metallic finger grid were calculated with a variation of the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) sheet resistance, scribing area, cell length, and finger dimensions. In addition, the contact resistance and illumination power were also assessed and the optimal thin film solar panel design was determined. Adding a metallic finger grid on a TCO gives a higher solar cell efficiency and this also enables longer cell lengths. However, contact resistance between the metal and the TCO material can reduce the efficiency benefit somewhat.
Highlights
Photovoltaics (PV) is a wide arena for materials science to demonstrate the power of bringing different materials together in one device
The isolation area of the back contact is filled with the semiconducting absorber material and all the current is transported through the transparent conductive oxide (TCO)
The TCO can be enhanced by a metallic finger grid, while the interconnection between top and bottom electrode takes place at the TCO
Summary
Photovoltaics (PV) is a wide arena for materials science to demonstrate the power of bringing different materials together in one device. The full potential of the application of metallic grids with optimized finger and cell dimensions (i.e., lower width and larger height) was reported to give a significant boost in thin film solar efficiencies [16]. Because such approach would add complexity in the manufacturing process, the efficiency gain should be determined and evaluated with respect to manufacturing issues. The calculated cell efficiencies give guidelines over a wide range of (non-ideal) circumstances for useful front contact technologies that aim to enhance the thin film solar panel efficiency
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
