EAPSI: Increasing energy capture in solar cells made using solar inks

要使太阳能电池与建筑物、车辆和纺织品直接集成在商业上是可行的，就需要大幅降低柔性、轻型太阳能电池(光伏)的成本。目前的太阳能电池制造方法使用复杂的高真空工艺，不容易与柔性材料兼容。由铜铟镓硒(CIGS)纳米晶配制的太阳能涂料可以喷涂在大多数材料上以制造太阳能电池，这为低成本光伏提供了一条可能的途径。然而，这些设备将阳光转化为电能的比例低于商业可行性所需的比例。该项目将与南洋理工大学(NTU)的Lydia Wong博士合作，研究如何通过加热纳米晶体和硒粉末形成连接的CIGS薄膜来提高太阳能电池的效率。南大现有的专门设备将使这些实验得以进行。通过在硒环境中烧结纳米晶薄膜，证明了CIGS纳米晶光伏电池的功率转换效率(PCE)的提高。纳米晶颗粒的烧结提高了太阳能电池的效率，但还需要更多地了解硒在生长过程和器件性能中的作用。硒的偏压很难控制，但对最终的薄膜形貌和器件性能有很大影响。本研究将利用为CIGS光伏制造而设计的多区炉系统地研究Se分压对烧结膜特性和器件PCE的影响。拟议的活动将探索提高CIGS纳米晶体光伏效率的因素，作为开发超低成本太阳能电池的途径，以满足对灵活、轻型太阳能的未得到满足的需求。该NSF EAPSI奖是与新加坡国家研究基金会合作资助的。

A dramatic reduction in the cost of flexible, lightweight solar cells (photovoltaics) is needed for direct integration of solar cells with buildings, vehicles, and textiles to be commercially viable. Current solar cell fabrication methods utilize complex, high vacuum processing not readily compatible with flexible materials. Solar paints formulated from Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) nanocrystals can be sprayed on most materials to create solar cells, offering a possible route to low cost photovoltaics. However, these devices convert a smaller percentage of the sunlight to electricity than needed for commercial viability. In collaboration with Dr. Lydia Wong of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), this project will investigate how to increase solar cell efficiency by forming a connected CIGS film by heating of the nanocrystals and selenium powder. The specialized equipment available at NTU will allow these experiments to be conducted.Increased power conversion efficiency (PCE) in CIGS nanocrystal photovoltaics has been demonstrated by sintering the nanocrystal film in a selenium environment. Sintering of the nanocrystal grains increases the efficiency of the solar cell, but greater understanding is needed of the role of selenium in the growth process and device performance. Selenium partial pressure is difficult to control, but has significant impact on final film morphology and device performance. This study will systematically investigate the influence of selenium partial pressure on the sintered film characteristics and device PCE using a multizone furnace designed for CIGS photovoltaic fabrication. The proposed activity will explore the factors that increase the efficiency of CIGS nanocrystal photovoltaics as a path to developing ultra-low cost solar cells to fill the unmet need for flexible, light-weight solar power. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the National Research Foundation of Singapore.