Fabrication of Sb2S3 Hybrid Solar Cells Based on Embedded Photoelectrodes of Ag Nanowires-Au Nanoparticles Composite.

The Ag nanowire (NW) + Au nanoparticle (NP)-embedded TiO2 photoelectrodes were adopted for conventional planar TiO2-based Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells to improve the cell efficiency. Compared to conventional planar TiO2-based Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells, the Ag NW + Au NP/TiO2-based Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells exhibited an improvement of approximately 40% in the cell efficiency due to the significant increase in both Jsc and Voc. These enhanced Jsc and Voc were attributed to the increased surface area, charge-collection efficiency, and light absorption by embedding the Ag NWs + Au NPs composite. The Ag NW + Au NP/TiO2-based Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells showed the highest efficiency of 2.17%, demonstrating that the Ag NW + Au NP-embedded TiO2 photoelectrode was a suitable photoelectrode structure to improve the power conversion efficiency in the Sb2S3 hybrid solar cells.

Controlled fabrication of mesoporous TiO2 hierarchical structures as scattering layers to enhance the power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells.

To meet the nanofabrication requirements, such as control of structure and scalability, we investigated an electrospray-based method to manufacture scattering layers (SLs) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). TiO2 spherical and disk-shaped particles with a large surface area, high crystallinity, uniform nanostructure and good light scattering properties were fabricated via a simple electrospray method. We showed how the morphology and structure of the resulting films can be controlled by varying the droplet evaporation rates before impact on the substrate. Thus, by tuning the process conditions, high-quality TiO2 spheres and disks were obtained. Then, these mesoporous TiO2 particles were used as the SLs in photoelectrodes, which resulted in enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE). Compared with conventional SLs (8.45%), DSSCs based on spherical and disk-shaped particle SLs yield higher PCEs of 9.0% and 9.53%, respectively. This is because the generated TiO2 spheres and disks provide a large surface area and exhibit excellent light scattering capabilities, allowing a low total internal resistance and a long electron lifetime.

Effect of anodic aluminum oxide template imprinting on TiO2 blocking layer of flexible dye-sensitized solar cell.

In this paper, we have proposed a new flexible dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) structure that employs an Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) template imprinted TiO2 blocking layer, in which the AAO template creates TiO2 nano-particle aggregated islands on the TiO2 blocking layer. The TiO2 blocking layer prevents charge recombination between the metal foil and the liquid electrolyte. TiO2 nano-particle aggregated islands improve the scattering of incident light during back illumination and provide the wider surface area, yielding enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE). All the flexible DSSC structure with TiO2 nano-particle aggregated islands on the TiO2 blocking layer exhibited higher photocurrent than did conventional DSSC because light that passed through the photoanode was scattered, thereby giving it improved PCE that was as much as 23% higher than that of a conventional DSSC. This proposed method is an effective manufacturing process for flexible DSSC.

Effect of Metal-Precursor Stacking Order on Volume-Defect Formation in CZTSSe Thin Film: Formation Mechanism of Blisters and Nanopores.

In this study, we investigated the effect of the stacking order of metal precursors on the formation of volume defects, such as blisters and nanopores, in CZTSSe thin-film solar cells. We fabricated CZTSSe thin films using three types of metal-precursor combinations, namely, Zn/Cu/Sn/Mo, Cu/Zn/Sn/Mo, and Sn/Cu/Zn/Mo, and studied the blister formation. The blister-formation mechanism was based on the delamination model, taking into consideration the compressive stress and adhesion properties. A compressive stress could be induced during the preferential formation of a ZnSSe shell. Under this stress, the adhesion between the ZnSSe film and the Mo substrate could be maintained by the surface tension of a metallic liquid phase with good wettability, or by the functioning of ZnSSe pillars as anchors, depending on the type of metal precursor used. Additionally, the nanopore formation near the back-contact side was found to be induced by the columnar microstructure of the metal precursor with the Cu/Zn/Mo stacking order and its dezincification. Based on the two volume-defect-formation mechanisms proposed herein, further development of volume-defect-formation suppression technology is expected to be made.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering from silver-coated opals.

We describe surface-enhanced Raman scattering measurements from a benzenethiol monolayer adsorbed on a silver-coated film that is, in turn, deposited on an artificial opal, where the latter is a close-packed three-dimensional dielectric lattice formed from polystyrene spheres. Data for a range of sphere sizes, silver film thicknesses, and laser excitation wavelengths are obtained. Enhancement factors can be in the range of 10(7). To partially explain these large enhancements, we have performed model finite-difference time domain simulations of the position-dependent electric fields generated at the opal surfaces for several experimentally studied laser wavelengths and sphere diameters.

Atomic Layer Deposition of Ultrathin ZnO Films for Hybrid Window Layers for Cu(Inx,Ga1-x)Se2 Solar Cells.

The efficiency of thin-film chalcogenide solar cells is dependent on their window layer thickness. However, the application of an ultrathin window layer is difficult because of the limited capability of the deposition process. This paper reports the use of atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes for fabrication of thin window layers for Cu(Inx,Ga1-x)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells, replacing conventional sputtering techniques. We fabricated a viable ultrathin 12 nm window layer on a CdS buffer layer from the uniform conformal coating provided by ALD. CIGS solar cells with an ALD ZnO window layer exhibited superior photovoltaic performances to those of cells with a sputtered intrinsic ZnO (i-ZnO) window layer. The short-circuit current of the former solar cells improved with the reduction in light loss caused by using a thinner ZnO window layer with a wider band gap. Ultrathin uniform A-ZnO window layers also proved more effective than sputtered i-ZnO layers at improving the open-circuit voltage of the CIGS solar cells, because of the additional buffering effect caused by their semiconducting nature. In addition, because of the precise control of the material structure provided by ALD, CIGS solar cells with A-ZnO window layers exhibited a narrow deviation of photovoltaic properties, advantageous for large-scale mass production purposes.

Effect of Perovskite Overlayers on TiO2 Electrodes in Perovskite-Sensitized Solar Cells.

In this paper, we have studied the effect of the thickness of a CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite overlayer on mesoporous TiO2 electrodes in perovskite solar cells. The overlayers were prepared by spin coating PbI2 films on the electrodes, which were subsequently exposed to a CH3NH3I/2-propanol solution. We controlled the thickness of the perovskite overlayer by changing the PbI2 solution concentration. The thicknesses of the overlayers spin-coated from 0.5, 0.75, 0.9, and 1 M PbI2 solutions were approximately 179, 262, 316, and 341 nm, respectively. Perovskite solar cells with an approximately 316-nm-thick overlayer showed the highest efficiency of 9.11%. We conclude that optimization of the perovskite overlayer thickness in the solar cell structure is necessary to improve the cell efficiency.

Optimization of the ZnS Buffer Layer by Chemical Bath Deposition for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells.

We evaluated a ZnS buffer layer prepared using a chemical bath deposition (CBD) process for application in cadmium-free Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells. The ZnS buffer layer showed good transmittance (above 90%) in the spectral range from 300 to 800 nm and was non-toxic compared with the CdS buffer layers normally used in CIGS solar cells. The CBD process was affected by several deposition conditions. The deposition rate was dependent on the ammonia concentration (complexing agent). When the ammonia concentration was either too high or low, a decrease in the deposition rate was observed. In addition, post heat treatments at high temperatures had detrimental influences on the ZnS buffer layers because portions of the ZnS thin films were transformed into ZnO. With optimized deposition conditions, a CIGS solar cell with a ZnS buffer layer showed an efficiency of 14.18% with a 0.23 cm2 active area under 100 mW/cm2 illumination.

Effect of TiCl4 Post-Treatment on the Embedded-Type TiO2 Nanotubes Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

We have studied the effect of TiCl4 post-treatment on the embedded-type TiO2 nanotubes (NT)-dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The TiO2 nanoparticles layer formed on TiO2 NTs surface by TiCl4 post-treatment showed different morphologies depending on TiCl4 treatment temperature. These different morphologies influenced the cell efficiency of TiO2 NT-DSSCs. The TiO2 NT treated with TiCl4 at 50 °C exhibited a rougher surface than that treated at 70 °C. The rough surface of the TiO2 NT improved the charge exchange between the dye and electrolyte. The TiO2 NT treated with TiCl4 at 50 °C showed better fill factor and cell efficiency than that treated at 70 °C. The TiCl4 post-treatment of TiO2 NT was effective at conditions of low temperature and long times. The TiO2 NT-DSSCs with TiCl4 post-treatment at 50 °C for 1.5 h showed an efficiency of 6.52%.

Fabrication of High Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on TiO2 Nanoparticles Embedded in Ti Substrate.

We have embedded a TiO2 nanoparticle (NP) photoelectrode in a Ti substrate to improve the cell efficiency of conventional TiO2 NP based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using Ti substrate. Compared to the conventional standing-type (TiO2 NPs on Ti substrate) DSSCs, the embedded-type (TiO2 NPs embedded in Ti substrate) DSSCs have shown an approximately 35% improvement in power conversion efficiency due to the improvement of J(sc). The embedded-type DSSCs have more charge transport paths than do standing-type DSSCs due to the increase of contact area between the TiO2 NP sidewall and the Ti substrate. This increased contact area decreases the electrical resistance and increases the charge collection efficiency, which leads to the improvement of J(sc). The embedded-type NP-DSSCs are very effective DSSC structures for enhancing the power conversion efficiency of Ti substrate based DSSCs.

Electrospun ZnO Nanofibers as a Photoelectrode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

A nanoparticle-based DSSC shows limited efficiency levels due to its disordered geometrical structure and interfacial interference during electron transport, whereas the use of nanofibers in a DSSC can increase the electron mobility at the interfacial area of the materials due to the reduced recombination of electrons before reaching the collecting electrode. In this study, we describe the fabrication and characteristics of a ZnO nanofiber electrode for DSSC. From the results of a thermogravimetric analysis, a stepped heat treatment was developed for the calcinations of the ZnO electrodes. The ZnO electrode morphology and crystalline structure were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and the X-ray diffraction patterns, respectively. The DSSC with the ZnO nanofiber photoelectrode (wire shaped) created by electrospinning showed an enhanced short-circuit current density (37% enhancement) compared to that of a ZnO sphere particle-shaped photoelectrode under irradiation of AM 1.5 simulated sunlight (100 mW/cm2). Moreover, we have investigated the origin of the improved performance through electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) and open-circuit voltage-decay (OCVD) measurements.

Effects of a Pretreatment on Al-Doped ZnO Thin Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition.

In this study, we investigated the electrical, structural, and optical properties of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films approximately 50 nm thick grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on glass substrates at 200 °C. An H2O pretreatment was conducted for all AZO samples. The electrical properties of the AZO thin film were improved after the pretreatment process. The Al doping concentrations were controlled by inserting an Al2O3 cycle after every "n" ZnO cycles while varying n from 99 to 16. As the doping concentration increases, the resistivity decreases and the optical band gap increases. When the Al2O3 cycle ratio is 5%, the electrical resistivity showed the lowest value of 4.66 x 10(-3) Ω cm. A carrier concentration of 1.10 x 10(20) cm(-3), and the optical transmittance exceeding 90% were obtained in the visible and near-infrared region. The thin film was strongly textured along the (100) direction in the X-ray diffraction patterns.

Nanostructured p-type CZTS thin films prepared by a facile solution process for 3D p-n junction solar cells.

Nanoporous p-type semiconductor thin films prepared by a simple solution-based process with appropriate thermal treatment and three-dimensional (3D) p-n junction solar cells fabricated by depositing n-type semiconductor layers onto the nanoporous p-type thin films show considerable photovoltaic performance compared with conventional thin film p-n junction solar cells. Spin-coated p-type Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films prepared using metal chlorides and thiourea show unique nanoporous thin film morphology, which is composed of a cluster of CZTS nanograins of 50-500 nm, and the obvious 3D p-n junction structure is fabricated by the deposition of n-type CdS on the nanoporous CZTS thin films by chemical bath deposition. The photovoltaic properties of 3D p-n junction CZTS solar cells are predominantly affected by the scale of CZTS nanograins, which is easily controlled by the sulfurization temperature of CZTS precursor films. The scale of CZTS nanograins determines the minority carrier transportation within the 3D p-n junction between CZTS and CdS, which are closely related with the photocurrent of series resistance of 3D p-n junction solar cells. 3D p-n junction CZTS solar cells with nanograins below 100 nm show power conversion efficiency of 5.02%, which is comparable with conventional CZTS thin film solar cells.

Materials, interfaces, and photon confinement in dye-sensitized solar cells.

A series of experiments have been carried out to study the effects of materials quality, surface and interfacial modification, and photon confinement on standard dye-sensitized solar cells. For these studies, both physical and optical characterization of the materials has been performed in detail. In addition, DC and AC impedance measurements along with kinetic charge-transport modeling of experimental results have yielded information on how to systematically optimize the cell efficiency. The same kinetic model has been used to interpret the results of a series of experiments on interfacial modification studies using fluorine etching in combination with TiCl(4) surface treatment. By using specially designed photonic crystals to confine the photons in the cells, it is shown that the best cell efficiency can be further increased by about 13%.

Tunable electronic transport characteristics of surface-architecture-controlled ZnO nanowire field effect transistors.

Surface-architecture-controlled ZnO nanowires were grown using a vapor transport method on various ZnO buffer film coated c-plane sapphire substrates with or without Au catalysts. The ZnO nanowires that were grown showed two different types of geometric properties: corrugated ZnO nanowires having a relatively smaller diameter and a strong deep-level emission photoluminescence (PL) peak and smooth ZnO nanowires having a relatively larger diameter and a weak deep-level emission PL peak. The surface morphology and size-dependent tunable electronic transport properties of the ZnO nanowires were characterized using a nanowire field effect transistor (FET) device structure. The FETs made from smooth ZnO nanowires with a larger diameter exhibited negative threshold voltages, indicating n-channel depletion-mode behavior, whereas those made from corrugated ZnO nanowires with a smaller diameter had positive threshold voltages, indicating n-channel enhancement-mode behavior.