Development of High-Efficiency Photovoltaic Devices with Micro-Structured Transparent Conductive Layers

The main objective of this project is to improve the efficiency of III-Vs-based solar cells by heteroepitaxial growth of ZnO-based micro- or nano-structures. Compared with the silicon-based solar cells, the III-Vs-based solar cells present many advantages, such as high transformation, high radiation resistance and high temperature operation. By optimization growth parameters, we will fabricate high-quality III-Vs-based epitaxial materials using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). In addition, the demonstration of hybrid ZnO-based structures can provide an alternative approach for worldwide energy issue. It is well known that the reflectance on the device surface influences greatly the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells and should be considered as an important topic concerned with the practical use of solar cells. In this project, we use the transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) as the metal connects and anti-reflection (AR) layer to lessen the influence of reflectance and therefore to increase the transmittance of illuminating light. The main research contents of the two years are: (1) in the first year, the objective is to synthesize ZnO-based conductive and anti-reflection layers by glancing angle physical vapor deposition. (2) In the second year, we will fabricate high-efficiency GaAs-based solar cells associated with one-dimensional oblique ZnO-based micro- or nano-structures. We expect that the technique can improve efficiency of solar cells due to higher short circuit current and smaller series resistance. Furthermore, by combining both fundamental physics, simulation and practical implementation, the demonstration of hybrid ZnO-based nanostructures will play a key role in future photovoltaic devices.

Project ID:PB9811-0343
External Project ID:NSC98-2622-E182-066-CC2