1188results about How to "Enhanced light absorption" patented technology

This invention relates to a photovoltaic device including an electrode such as a front electrode/contact. In certain example embodiments, the front electrode of the photovoltaic device includes a multi-layered transparent conductive coating which is sputter-deposited on a textured surface of a patterned glass substrate. In certain example embodiments, a maximum transmission area of the substantially transparent conductive front electrode is located under a peak area of a quantum efficiency (QE) and/or QEx (photon flux of solar radiation) curve of the photovoltaic device and a light source spectrum used to power the photovoltaic device. In certain example embodiments, the front electrode includes a transparent conductive layer of or including one or more of (i) titanium zinc oxide doped with aluminum and/or niobium, and/or (ii) titanium niobium oxide.

The invention provides a silver nanowire-based transparent conductive thin film and a preparation method thereof. The preparation method is characterized by comprising the following steps of: forming a uniform adhesive layer on a substrate by organic polymer fluid; and forming a silver nanowire conductive layer on the adhesive layer, wherein silver nanowires can be firmly adhered to the adhesive layer. Through the adhesive layer, the firmness and the reliability of the silver nanowire transparent conductive thin film are greatly improved, the problem of easiness of falling of the silver nanowires is solved, and the selection range of the substrate is expanded. If the adhesive layer is formed by polyvinyl alcohol on a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) substrate, the visible light transmittance reaches 84 percent when square resistance is 130.

A photovoltaic device that includes a plurality of elongated nanostructures disposed on the surface of a substrate and a multilayered film deposited conformally over the elongated nanostructures forming a plurality of photoactive junctions. A method making such a photovoltaic device includes generating a plurality of elongated nanostructures on a substrate surface and conformally depositing a multilayered film forming a plurality of photoactive junctions. The plurality of photoactive junctions are designed to capture different wavelengths of light. A solar panel includes at least one photovoltaic device.

Novel structures of photovoltaic cells (also called as solar cells) are provided. The Cells are based on the micro (or nano) structures which could not only increase the surface area but also have the capability of self concentrating the solar spectrum incident onto the cell. These photovoltaic cells have large power generation capability per unit physical area over the conventional cells. These cells will have enormous applications such as in space, in commercial, residential and industrial applications.

This invention relates to a photovoltaic device including an electrode such as a front electrode/contact. In certain example embodiments, the front electrode of the photovoltaic device includes a multi-layered transparent conductive coating which is sputter-deposited on a textured surface of a patterned glass substrate. In certain example embodiments, a maximum transmission area of the substantially transparent conductive front electrode is located under a peak area of a quantum efficiency (QE) curve of the photovoltaic device and a light source spectrum used to power the photovoltaic device.

A process for forming a zinc oxide film including immersing an electroconductive substrate having a surface including a plurality of linear projections in an aqueous solution containing at least nitrate ions and zinc ions to form a zinc oxide film on the electroconductive substrate by a liquid-phase deposition. The plurality of linear projections may preferably provide an uneven surface which has a center-line average surface roughness Ra(X) of 15-300 nm when scanned in a direction parallel to the linear projections, a center line average surface roughness Ra(Y) of 20-600 nm when scanned in a direction perpendicular to the linear projections, and an Ra(X)/Ra(Y) ratio of at most 0.8. The thus formed zinc oxide film is provided with an uneven surface suitable for an optical-confinement layer of a photo-electricity generating device excellent in photoelectric performances.

Novel structures of photovoltaic cells (also treated as solar cells) are provided. The cells are based on nanometer or micrometer-scaled wires, tubes, and/or rods, which are made of electronic materials covering semiconductors, insulators, and may be metallic in structure. These photovoltaic cells have large power generation capability per unit physical area over the conventional cells. These cells will have enormous applications such as in space, commercial, residential and industrial applications.

This invention relates to the fabrication of nanowires for electrical and electronic applications. A method of growing silicon nanowires using an alumina template is disclosed whereby the aluminum forming the alumina is also used as the catalyst for growing the silicon nanowires in a VLS (CVD) process and as the semiconductor dopant. In addition, various techniques for masking off parts of the aluminum and alumina in order to maintain electrical isolation between device layers is disclosed.

The invention provides a method for preparing an N-type crystalline silicon solar cell with aluminum-based local emitters on the back side. The method comprises the following steps: firstly, selecting N-type silicon wafers to carry out the surface-textured etching process; further forming a front surface field through phosphorous diffusion; depositing a passivating film on the front surface after the phosphorosilicate glass is formed during the removal of diffused phosphorous; carrying out the back-side chemical polishing process on the silicon wafers to remove the N+ layer formed on the back side during the phosphorous diffusion; then, sequentially printing an aluminum layer or a silver-aluminum layer through the passivating film deposited on the back side, local holes or grooves on the back side and screens on the back side; then, printing silver paste on the front surface; and finally, carrying out the one-step sintering process to form a local P+ layer on the back side and allowing the P+ layer to coming into ohmic contact with the electrodes on the front and back surfaces. By using the N-type substrate, forming local aluminum-based P-N junctions on the back side and further using the back-side chemical polishing process to remove the edge junctions, the invention can substitute for the conventional stacking-type plasma etching process, simplify the technological procedures and further bring a series of performance improvement to cells.

A photovoltaic device includes a front electrode on a textured front glass substrate. In certain example embodiments, the glass substrate is textured via roller(s) and/or etching to form a textured surface. Thereafter, a front electrode is formed on the textured surface of the glass substrate via pyrolysis. The front electrode may be of or include a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) such as tin oxide and/or fluorinated tin oxide in certain example embodiments. In certain example instances, this is advantageous in that efficiency of the photovoltaic device can be improved by increasing light absorption by the active semiconductor via both increasing light intensity passing through the front glass substrate and front electrode, and increasing the light path in the semiconductor photovoltaic conversion layer.

Organic and organic/inorganic hybrid bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices with improved efficiencies are disclosed. The organic photovoltaic device comprises a photoactive polymer:fullerene C₆₀-carbon nanotube (polymer:C₆₀-CNT) composite as a component of the active layer. Under light irradiation, photoinduced charge separation at the polymer:C₆₀ interface is followed by electron transfer from C₆₀ onto CNTs for efficient electron transport towards an electrode. The organic/inorganic hybrid photovoltaic device comprises quantum dots and carbon nanotubes. Power conversion efficiency enhancement methods of polymer-CNT based photovoltaics are also provided.

The present invention is directed to an improved CT detector scintillator to photodiode optical coupling. The CT detector utilizes a controlled air gap between the photodiode array and the scintillator array together with an anti-reflective layer on the scintillator array. To improve the absorption of light at the photodiode array, the photodiode array includes a textured light reception surface. By incorporating a textured layer with the photodiode array, the light collection efficiency of the photodiodes is improved. The textured layer may extend along an x- and/or z-axis and the texturing may be in different forms. For example, the textured layer may include a series of pyramidally-shaped protrusions.

Novel structures of photovoltaic cells (also called as solar cells) are provided. The cells are based on nanoparticles or nanometer-scaled wires, tubes, and/or rods, which are made of electronic materials covering semiconductors, insulators, and may be metallic in structure. These photovoltaic cells have large power generation capability per unit physical area over the conventional cells. These cells will have enormous applications such as in space, commercial, residential and industrial applications.

A display device includes a first layer having an optically active display portion, a second layer including a photovoltaic element, and a third layer including electronics operatively coupled to the first layer, wherein the electronics are configured to drive the optically active display portion. Further, the second layer is arranged between the first and third layers.

Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to a front electrode provided on an etched/patterned front glass substrate for use in a photovoltaic device or the like. The glass is a low-iron soda-lime-silica based glass. Etching of the glass may include immersing the soda-lime-silica based glass in an acid inclusive solution such as hydrofluoric acid (e.g., HF in aqueous solution) and/or hydrofluoric acid with a buffer, in order to selectively dissolve some of the glass thereby producing at least one textured/patterned substantially transparent surface of the glass substrate. A front electrode (single or multi-layered) is then formed (e.g., via sputter-deposition) on the textured surface of the front glass substrate, and may be used in a photovoltaic device or the like.

Photodiode devices with GeSn active layers can be integrated directly on p+ Si platforms under CMOS-compatible conditions. It has been found that even minor amounts of Sn incorporation (2%) dramatically expand the range of IR detection up to at least 1750 nm and substantially increases the absorption. The corresponding photoresponse can cover of all telecommunication bands using entirely group IV materials.

Methods and apparatus for reducing a thermal load on an optical head are described. Waste light is captured at one or more locations in the optical head and directed to a location that is thermally isolated from the one or more locations in the optical head using or more optical fibers.

Novel structures of photovoltaic cells (also treated as solar cells) are provided. The cells are based on nanometer-scaled wires, tubes, and/or rods, which are made of electronic materials covering semiconductors, insulators or metallic in structure. These photovoltaic cells have large power generation capability per unit physical area over the conventional cells. These cells will have enormous applications in space, commercial, residential, and industrial applications.

A guided mode resonance solar cell includes a solar cell body and a guided mode resonance unit. The solar cell body is used for converting optical energy into electrical energy. The guided mode resonance unit is formed on the solar cell body, and includes a grating structure and a waveguide structure. The grating structure includes multiple sub-wavelength light pillars. When a light emitted from a light source is incident onto the grating structure, a resonant of the light occurs in the grating structure to facilitate trapping the light in the waveguide structure and elongating an optical path length.

A semiconductor light emitting device is formed by adhering a semiconductor layered portion having a light emitting layer forming portion to a conductive substrate via a metal layer. The metal layer has at least a first metal layer for ohmic contact with the semiconductor layered portion, a second metal layer made of Ag, and a third metal layer made of a metal which allows adhesion to the conductive substrate at a low temperature. As a result, the rate of reflection of light from the metal layer increases due to the presence of Ag in the metal layer. Further, the metal in the metal layer is prohibited from diffusing into the semiconductor layer, so that the semiconductor layer does not absorb light. And therefore the brightness of the semiconductor light emitting device can further be increased.

The present invention relates to growth of vertically-oriented crystalline nanowire arrays upon a transparent conductive or other substrate for use in 3^rd generation photovoltaic and other applications. A method of growing crystalline anatase nanowires includes the steps of: deposition of titania onto a substrate; conversion of the titania into titanate nanowires; and, treatment of the titanate nanowires to produce crystalline anatase nanowires.