| AVS 55th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Energy Science and Technology Focus Topic | Thursday Sessions |
| Session EN+EM+NS+P+A+T+V-ThM |
| Session: | Energy: Tools and Approaches |
| Presenter: | C.-F. Lin, National Taiwan University |
| Authors: | C.-F. Lin, National Taiwan University J.-S. Huang, National Taiwan University S.-C. Shiu, National Taiwan University J.-J. Chao, National Taiwan University C.-Y. Hsiao, National Taiwan University K.-H. Tsai, National Taiwan University |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The foreseeable depletion of fossil fuel and the global warming caused by the carbon dioxide had led to the increasing attention of alternative renewable energy, especially photovoltaic. Therefore, crystalline Si-PV devices are quickly spreading. Unfortunately, the large consumption of Si materials hinders their vast applications. Many efforts have been switched to developing thin-film PV devices. In this talk, we will discuss the use of nano-structured and micro-structured semiconductors that enable the fabrication of thin-film solar cells with improved efficiency. Several types of such thin-film solar cells will be discussed, including the organic-semiconductor-nanowire composite film, organic-semiconductor micro-structure composite film, nano-wire semiconductor thin film, and micro-structured semiconductor thin film. In the thin-film solar cells using organic-semiconductor-nanorod composite film, different types of semiconductor nanowires such as ZnO, Si, and GaAs nanowires are used to replace the accepter-type organics for two purposes: increasing the electron mobility and assisting the formation of nano-morphology for better inter link between the donor organics and acceptor materials. The fabrication procedures of those nanowires as well as the formation of the organic-semiconductor-nanowire composite film with controlled nano-morphology will be presented. For the other solar cells using nano-structured and micro-structured semiconductors, we will particularly describe the technique of nanowire/micro-structure transfer. In our approach, the nanowires and micro-structures are made from the bulk semiconductors or epitaxial semiconductors, so they will have much better crystal quality than the usual thin-film materials. In addition, after nanowires and micro-structures are transferred to other transparent substrates, the original wafer can be reused, so the material cost can be lowered considerably. In addition, it offers the advantages of the bending flexibility, not being limited by the brittle property of semiconductors. Furthermore, in comparison with current III-V tandem solar cells taken by monolithic approach, which requires lattice match and current balance, our approach enables mechanically stacking. Thus each cell could be designed individually to match the entire solar spectrum for optimal solar usage. Therefore, such new-type thin-film solar cells are expected to be potentially efficient and low cost.