57 articles
ITIC-based organic solar cells
ITIC-based organic solar cells are organic photovoltaic devices using ITIC, a fused-ring non-fullerene acceptor reported in 2015 with a then-record 6.8% efficiency alongside the PTB7-Th donor.
Luminescent solar concentrator
A luminescent solar concentrator is a photonic device, first proposed in 1976, that uses luminophore-doped plates to guide sunlight to edge-mounted photovoltaic cells, mainly for building windows.
Microcrystalline silicon
Microcrystalline silicon (hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon, μc-Si:H) is a mixed-phase thin-film semiconductor of tiny silicon crystallites in amorphous silicon, used mainly as the absorber in thin-film solar cells.
Micromorph tandem solar cell
A micromorph tandem solar cell is a thin-film silicon photovoltaic device stacking an amorphous silicon top cell over a microcrystalline silicon bottom cell, introduced in Switzerland in 1994.
Multiple exciton generation
Multiple exciton generation (MEG), also called carrier multiplication, is a process in which one absorbed high-energy photon creates two or more electron-hole pairs in a semiconductor.
Nanowire solar cells
Nanowire solar cells are photovoltaic devices whose light-absorbing semiconductor is shaped as micrometer-long wires or pillars, reducing reflection and material use; III–V designs reached 17.8% efficiency.
Near-field thermophotovoltaic converters
A near-field thermophotovoltaic converter is a solid-state heat engine where a hot emitter and photovoltaic cell separated by a nanoscale gap exceed the blackbody limit.
Non-fullerene acceptor
A non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) is an organic electron-accepting molecule that replaces fullerene derivatives in organic solar cells, whose tunable properties have pushed power conversion efficiencies past 20%.
Organic solar cell
An organic solar cell, also called an organic photovoltaic (OPV) device, is a solar cell that converts light to electricity using carbon-based semiconductors, with certified efficiencies now above 20%.
Organic tandem solar cell
An organic tandem solar cell (OTSC) is a photovoltaic device stacking two or more organic subcells that absorb different parts of the solar spectrum, first demonstrated in 1990.
PbS quantum dot solar cell
A PbS quantum dot solar cell is a photovoltaic device using lead sulfide nanocrystals as the absorber, tunable to capture infrared light; record efficiency is 15.45%.
Photoanode
A photoanode is the illuminated electrode of a photoelectrochemical cell where oxidation reactions occur, typically an n-type semiconductor such as TiO2, hematite, or BiVO4, often used for solar water splitting.
PM6:Y6 bulk heterojunction
PM6:Y6 is the bulk heterojunction active layer formed by blending the donor polymer PM6 with the non-fullerene acceptor Y6, setting a certified 14.9% efficiency record in 2019.
Polymer solar cell
A polymer solar cell is a lightweight, flexible photovoltaic device that converts light into electricity using a thin film of conjugated polymer donor paired with an acceptor material.
Quantum dot solar cell
A quantum dot solar cell (QDSC) is a third-generation photovoltaic device using semiconductor nanocrystals whose size-tuned bandgaps absorb different parts of the solar spectrum, with certified efficiencies reaching 18.1%.
Singlet fission
Singlet fission is a photophysical process where one excited singlet molecule splits into two triplet states, potentially lifting solar cell efficiency past the Shockley–Queisser limit to about 45%.
Singlet fission solar cells
Singlet fission solar cells are photovoltaic devices that use singlet fission to convert one photon into two charge carriers, pursued mainly as an add-on to silicon cells.
Solar thermophotovoltaic system
A solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) system converts sunlight to electricity via a heated intermediate emitter, whose thermal radiation a photovoltaic cell converts, reshaping the spectrum to cut losses.
Superstrate configuration
The superstrate configuration is a thin-film solar cell architecture in which light enters through the transparent glass support, contrasting with the substrate configuration that allows opaque supports.
Thermophotovoltaics
Thermophotovoltaics (TPV) is the conversion of thermal radiation into electricity using photovoltaic cells, with a hot emitter above 800 °C replacing the sun as the light source.
Thin-film gallium arsenide solar cell
A thin-film gallium arsenide solar cell is a lightweight, flexible photovoltaic device whose GaAs absorber is peeled from its growth wafer, mainly for space and drones.
Thin-film solar cell
A thin-film solar cell is a photovoltaic cell made by depositing thin semiconductor layers on glass, plastic, or metal rather than a silicon wafer, using far less material.
Triplet harvesting in organic solar cells
Triplet harvesting in organic solar cells is the set of strategies for converting spin-triplet excitons into usable charge or energy, most prominently singlet fission, which could let a single-junction cell exceed the Shockley–Queisser limit.
Triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion for photovoltaics
Triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion for photovoltaics (TTA-UC) is a photochemical technique that converts two sub-bandgap photons into one higher-energy photon a solar cell can absorb, first demonstrated in 2012.
Van der Waals heterostructure photovoltaic
A van der Waals heterostructure photovoltaic is a solar cell whose junction is made of stacked atomically thin 2D materials held by van der Waals forces.
Y-series non-fullerene acceptors
Y6-series non-fullerene acceptors (Y-series NFAs) are small-molecule electron acceptors for organic solar cells, introduced in 2019 and driving efficiencies from about 13% to past 19%.
Zinc oxysulfide buffer layer
Zinc oxysulfide buffer layer, written Zn(O,S), is a thin cadmium-free n-type semiconductor film used as the buffer layer in CIGS thin-film solar cells, with a band gap tuned by its oxygen-to-sulfur ratio.