From Femtoseconds to Gigaseconds: The SolDeg Platform for the Performance Degradation Analysis of Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Heterojunction Si solar cells exhibit notable performance degradation. We modeled this degradation by electronic defects getting generated by thermal activation across energy barriers over time. To analyze the physics of this degradation, we developed the SolDeg platform to simulate the dynamics of electronic defect generation. First, femtosecond molecular dynamics simulations were performed to create a-Si/c-Si stacks, using the machine learning-based Gaussian approximation potential. Second, we created shocked clusters by a cluster blaster method. Third, the shocked clusters were analyzed to identify which of them supported electronic defects. Fourth, the distribution of energy barriers that control the generation of these electronic defects was determined. Fifth, an accelerated Monte Carlo method was developed to simulate the thermally activated time-dependent defect generation across the barriers. Our main conclusions are as follows. (1) The degradation of a-Si/c-Si heterojunction solar cells via defect generation is controlled by a broad distribution of energy barriers. (2) We developed the SolDeg platform to track the microscopic dynamics of defect generation across this wide barrier distribution and determined the time-dependent defect density N(t) from femtoseconds to gigaseconds, over 24 orders of magnitude in time. (3) We have shown that a stretched exponential analytical form can successfully describe the defect generation N(t) over at least 10 orders of magnitude in time. (4) We found that in relative terms, Voc degrades at a rate of 0.2%/year over the first year, slowing with advancing time. (5) We developed the time correspondence curve to calibrate and validate the accelerated testing of solar cells. We found a compellingly simple scaling relationship between accelerated and normal times tnormal ∝ taccelT(accel)/T(normal). (6) We also carried out experimental studies of defect generation in a-Si:H/c-Si stacks. We found a relatively high degradation rate at early times that slowed considerably at longer time scales.

Triple-halide wide-band gap perovskites with suppressed phase segregation for efficient tandems.

Wide-band gap metal halide perovskites are promising semiconductors to pair with silicon in tandem solar cells to pursue the goal of achieving power conversion efficiency (PCE) greater than 30% at low cost. However, wide-band gap perovskite solar cells have been fundamentally limited by photoinduced phase segregation and low open-circuit voltage. We report efficient 1.67-electron volt wide-band gap perovskite top cells using triple-halide alloys (chlorine, bromine, iodine) to tailor the band gap and stabilize the semiconductor under illumination. We show a factor of 2 increase in photocarrier lifetime and charge-carrier mobility that resulted from enhancing the solubility of chlorine by replacing some of the iodine with bromine to shrink the lattice parameter. We observed a suppression of light-induced phase segregation in films even at 100-sun illumination intensity and less than 4% degradation in semitransparent top cells after 1000 hours of maximum power point (MPP) operation at 60°C. By integrating these top cells with silicon bottom cells, we achieved a PCE of 27% in two-terminal monolithic tandems with an area of 1 square centimeter.

Optical modeling of wide-bandgap perovskite and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells using complex refractive indices for arbitrary-bandgap perovskite absorbers.

Wide-bandgap perovskites are attractive top-cell materials for tandem photovoltaic applications. Comprehensive optical modeling is essential to minimize the optical losses of state-of-the-art perovskite/perovskite, perovskite/CIGS, and perovskite/silicon tandems. Such models require accurate optical constants of wide-bandgap perovskites. Here, we report optical constants determined with ellipsometry and spectrophotometry for two new wide-bandgap, cesium-formamidinium-based perovskites. We validate the optical constants by comparing simulated quantum efficiency and reflectance spectra with measured cell results for semi-transparent single-junction perovskite cells and find less than 0.3 mA/cm2 error in the short-circuit current densities. Such simulations further reveal that reflection and parasitic absorption in the front ITO layer and electron contact are responsible for the biggest optical losses. We also show that the complex refractive index of methylammonium lead triiodide, the most common perovskite absorber for solar cells, can be used to generate approximate optical constants for an arbitrary wide-bandgap perovskite by translating the data along the wavelength axis. Finally, these optical constants are used to map the short-circuit current density of a textured two-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell as a function of the perovskite thickness and bandgap, providing a guide to nearly 20 mA/cm2 matched current density with any perovskite bandgap between 1.56 and 1.68 eV.

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) vs. ureterorenoscopic (URS) manipulation in proximal ureteric stone.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the stone free rate at one week after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and ureterorenoscopic (URS) manipulation for proximal ureteric stone (10 - 15 mm size). STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), Karachi, from August 2010 to February 2011. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and ninety patients with 10 - 15 mm proximal urteric stone, in each group were treated with ESWL and ureterorenoscopic manipulation by using an 8.0 or 8.5 Fr semi rigid ureteroscope. Intracorporeal lithotripsy was performed by using pneumatic lithoclast. The stone free rate were compared between groups by considering size of stone at one week after procedure. The success rate, retreatment rate, auxiliary procedure and complication rate were compared in each group. RESULTS: Success rate was 49.2% for ESWL and 57.8% for URS (p = 0.008). The re-treatment rate was significantly higher in ESWL group than in URS group (40% vs. 11 and 18% in URS group). CONCLUSION: Although ESWL is regarded as the preferred choice of treatment for proximal ureteric stone, the present results suggest that ureterorenoscopic manipulation with intracorporeal lithotripsy is a safe alternative, with an advantage of obtaining an earlier or immediate stone-free status. Laparoscopic approaches are reasonable alternatives in cases, where ESWL and URS have failed.