I am interested in developing technologies that drive global sustainable development in the field of energy, environment, ecology, agriculture, and education.
A new approach for selection of Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR) for switching high pulsed curr... more A new approach for selection of Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR) for switching high pulsed currents in the septum magnet power supply is described. In this approach, an attempt is made to select the SCR from its I 2 t rating given in data sheet. For this, a factor which we have called I 2 t derating factor is defined as the ratio of I 2 t rating of SCR to the I 2 t value of current pulse to be switched. Thus, the SCR to be used in power supply is selected from its I 2 t derating factor. Three different experiments were performed using SCR of different manufacturers, to estimate the value of I 2 t derating factors. In these experiments, the SCR was subjected to maximum thermal stress till SCR started showing degradation. The forward blocking voltage and the leakage current are the parameters used for characterizing the SCR before and after the stress. The results of these experiments are presented and discussed. This approach will be of great help when pulse rating of SCR, like, transient thermal impedance is not available. Finally, a method is presented which can contribute to design low-cost and high-reliability septum magnet power supply.
A wide range of medical devices have significant electronic components. Compared to open-source m... more A wide range of medical devices have significant electronic components. Compared to open-source medical software, open (and open-source) electronic hardware has been less published in peer-reviewed literature. In this review, we explore the developments, significance, and advantages of using open platform electronic hardware for medical devices. Open hardware electronics platforms offer not just shorter development times, reduced costs, and customization; they also offer a key potential advantage which current commercial medical devices lack—seamless data sharing for machine learning and artificial intelligence. We explore how various electronic platforms such as microcontrollers, single board computers, field programmable gate arrays, development boards, and integrated circuits have been used by researchers to design medical devices. Researchers interested in designing low cost, customizable, and innovative medical devices can find references to various easily available electronic ...
In the past few years, metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPA) have been extensively studied due to ... more In the past few years, metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPA) have been extensively studied due to their incredible ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves and provide a broadband, polarization-independent, and wide-angle response for a host of applications. The need for high-performance terahertz regime MPA is increasing for both the commercial and the military applications to provide concealment and shield objects. We report periodic arrays of tapered cylindrical heavily-doped silicon structures to realize an ultra-broadband and polarization independent THz perfect absorber for a wide-angle response. In this proposed structure, we deployed heavily-doped silicon to improve the THz absorption efficiency and bandwidth of the response, and secondly, the conventional microfabrication technology can be easily integrated to support the fabrication of this silicon-based MPA. In this work, we used COMSOL Multiphysics<sup>®</sup> to model the electromagnetic wave response of t...
The requirement for metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPA) based on doped semiconductors is steadil... more The requirement for metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPA) based on doped semiconductors is steadily increasing due to the available matured fabrication and simulation technology. There is a particular interest in developing terahertz (THz) perfect absorbers using doped semiconductors for achieving characteristics such as polarization-independence, wide-angle, and broadband absorption. We report MPA based on patterned arrays of tapered micro-cylindrical structures of doped silicon to enable them with broadband, wide-angle, and polarization-independent response. In this work, we modeled the MPA structures using COMSOL Multiphysics to evaluate its electromagnetic wave response using the software's RF Module running in parallel on a Beowulf cluster. We evaluated the doped silicon MPA structures for its response in the frequency spectrum of 0.1 to 5.0 THz for transverse magnetic and transverse electric polarizations at the normal and oblique incidence up to 75 degrees. This proposed d...
An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize de... more An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize design parameters for improving the optical absorption efficiency of plasmonic solar cells (PSC). This approach is based on formulating the parameters extraction as a search and optimization process in order to maximize the optical absorption in the PSC. Determining the physical parameters of three-dimensional (3-D) PSC is critical for designing and estimating their performance, however, due to the complex design of the PSC, parameters extraction is time and calculation intensive. In this paper, this technique is demonstrated for the case of commercial thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic cells enhanced through patterned silver nano-disk plasmonic structures. The DE optimization of PSC structures was performed to execute a real-time parameter search and optimization. The predicted optical enhancement (OE) in optical absorption in the active layer of the PSC ...
HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific re... more HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessar... more Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessarily constitute undesired resistive heating problem for photovoltaics. Tailoring the geometric skin depth of metals and employing the natural bulk absorbance characteristics of the semiconductors in those absorbers can enable the exchange of undesired resistive losses with the useful optical absorbance in the active semiconductors. Thus, Ohmic loss dominated metamaterial absorbers can be converted into photovoltaic near-perfect absorbers with the advantage of harvesting the full potential of light management offered by the metamaterial absorbers. Based on experimental permittivity data for indium gallium nitride, we have shown that between 75%-95% absorbance can be achieved in the semiconductor layers of the converted metamaterial absorbers. Besides other metamaterial and plasmonic devices, our results may also apply to photodectors and other metal or semiconductor based optical devices w...
This paper presents investigated results of copper-oxide nanowires used as a humidity sensor. Cop... more This paper presents investigated results of copper-oxide nanowires used as a humidity sensor. Copper-oxide nanowires films were grown over cross-comb type gold electrodes on a SiO2 substrate using thermal annealing technique, and its humidity sensitive characteristics were investigated through resistance across the gold electrodes. These copper-oxide nanowires films revealed high sensitivity and long-term stability with fast response time. It was found that resistance across gold electrodes of the fabricated sensor decreases with increase in humidity almost linearly on a logarithmic scale. It appears that copper-oxide nanowires can be used as low-cost humidity sensor with high output reliability and reproduction rate. The observations were carried out at room temperature (RT) and relative humidity (RH) in the range of 6% to 97%.
An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize de... more An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize design parameters for improving the optical absorption efficiency of plasmonic solar cells (PSC). This approach is based on formulating the parameters extraction as a search and optimization process in order to maximize the optical absorption in the PSC. Determining the physical parameters of three-dimensional (3-D) PSC is critical for designing and estimating their performance, however, due to the complex design of the PSC, parameters extraction is time and calculation intensive. In this paper, this technique is demonstrated for the case of commercial thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic cells enhanced through patterned silver nano-disk plasmonic structures. The DE optimization of PSC structures was performed to execute a real-time parameter search and optimization. The predicted optical enhancement (OE) in optical absorption in the active layer of the PSC for AM-1.5 solar spectrum was found to be over 19.45% higher compared to the reference cells. The proposed technique offers higher accuracy and automates the tuning of control parameters of PSC in a time-efficient manner.
A new method of preparing highly conductive ultra-thin indium tin oxide for plasmonic-enhanced th... more A new method of preparing highly conductive ultra-thin indium tin oxide for plasmonic-enhanced thin film solar photovoltaic devices. Abstract Recent numerical modeling of plasmonic metallic nanostructures have shown great potential as a method of light management in thin-film nanodisc-patterned hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. A significant design challenge for such plasmonic-enhanced PV devices is the requirement for ultra-thin transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) with high transmittance (low loss) and low enough resistivity to be used as device top contacts/electrodes. Most work on TCOs is on relatively thick layers and the few reported cases of thin TCO showed a marked decrease in conductivity. Recent work on ultra-thin TCOs of aluminum-doped zinc oxide, indium-doped tin oxide and zinc oxide revealed an unavoidable trade-off between transmittance and resistivity when fabricated with conventional growth methods. Ultra-thin films showed a tendency to be either amorphous and continuous or form as isolated islands. This results in poor electrical properties, which cannot be improved with annealing as the delicate thin films nucleate to form grain clusters. In order to overcome this challenge, this study investigates a novel method of producing ultra-thin (&lt;40 nm) high quality TCOs. First, ~80nm ITO films are sputtered in various argon-oxygen atmospheres and annealed to increase conductivity. The most promising materials were then reduced in thickness with a controlled low-cost room-temperature cyclic wet chemical etching process to reach the desired thickness. The degradation in the electrical conductivity was tracked as a function of thickness. The sheet resistance of 36nm thin films was observed to be of the same order compared to the much thicker commercial ITO films currently used as transparent electrodes in PV and other opto-electronic devices. Experimental optical properties of the shaved films were then used in an optimized model of nano-disc plasmonic a-Si:H solar cells. Simulations indicate that optical enhancement greater than 21% are possible in the 300 – 730 nm wavelength range, when compared to the reference cell. Using the novel chemical shaving method described here, high-quality ultra-thin ITO films capable of improving the efficiency of thin film a-Si:H solar cells have been demonstrated. The methods employed in the optimization process are well established and economically viable, which provide the technical potential for commercialization of plasmonic based solar cells. A new method of preparing highly conductive ultra-thin indium tin oxide for plasmonic-enhanced thin film solar photovoltaic devices.
Metals in the plasmonic metamaterial absorbers for photovoltaics constitute undesired resistive h... more Metals in the plasmonic metamaterial absorbers for photovoltaics constitute undesired resistive heating. However, tailoring the geometric skin depth of metals can minimize resistive losses while maximizing the optical absorbance in the active semiconductors of the photovoltaic device. Considering experimental permittivity data for InxGa1-xN, absorbance in the semiconductor layers of the photovoltaic device can reach above 90%. The results here also provides guidance to compare the performance of different semiconductor materials. This skin depth engineering approach can also be applied to other optoelectronic devices, where optimizing the device performance demands minimizing resistive losses and power consumption, such as photodetectors, laser diodes, and light emitting diodes.
Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 2015
This study investigates ultra-thin transparent conducting oxides (TCO) of indium tin oxide (ITO),... more This study investigates ultra-thin transparent conducting oxides (TCO) of indium tin oxide (ITO), aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) to determine their viability as candidate materials for use in plasmonic-enhanced thin-film amorphous silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) devices. First a sensitivity analysis of the optical absorption for the intrinsic layer of a nano-disk patterned thin-film amorphous silicon-based solar cell as a function of TCO thickness (10–50 nm) was performed by simulation. These simulation results were then used to guide the design of the experimental work which investigated both optical and electrical properties of ultra-thin (10 nm on average) films simultaneously deposited on both glass and silicon substrates using conventional rf sputtering. The effects of deposition and post-processing parameters on material properties of ITO, AZO and ZnO ultra-thin TCOs were probed and the suitability of TCOs for integration into plasmonic-enhanced thin-film solar PV devices was assessed. The results show that ultra-thin TCOs present a number of challenges for use as thin top contacts on plasmonic-enhanced PV devices: (1) optical and electrical parameters differ greatly from those of thicker (bulk) films deposited under the same conditions, (2) the films are delicate due to their thickness, requiring very long annealing times to prevent cracking, and (3) reactive gases require careful monitoring to maintain stoichiometry. The results presented here found a trade-off between conductivity and transparency of the deposited films. Although the sub 50 nm TCO films investigated exhibited desirable optical properties (transmittance greater than 80 %), their resistivity was too high to be considered as materials for the top contact of conventional PV devices. Future work is necessary to improve thin TCO properties, or alternative materials, and geometries are needed in plasmonic-based amorphous silicon solar cells. The stability of ultra-thin TCO films also needs to be experimentally investigated under normal device operating conditions.
In the last decade, nano-structured materials have gained a significant interest for applications... more In the last decade, nano-structured materials have gained a significant interest for applications in solar cells and other optical and opto-electronic devices. Due to carrier confinement, the absorption characteristics in these structures are quite different from the absorption in bulk materials and thin films. Optical absorption coefficients of a silicon nano-wire are obtained based on a semi-classical model where the photon-electron interaction is described by the interaction of an electromagnetic wave with the electrons in the valence band of a semiconductor. The absorption characteristics showed enhanced optical absorption but no resonant peaks. In our modified model, we have identified optically active inter band transitions by performing electronic structure calculations on unit cells of nano-dimensions. The absorption spectrum obtained here shows explicit excitonic processes. This absorption is tunable from the visible region to near UV portion of the solar spectrum. In our p...
We study polarization independent improved light trapping in commercial thin film hydrogenated am... more We study polarization independent improved light trapping in commercial thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic cells using a three-dimensional silver array of multi-resonant nano-disk structures embedded in a silicon nitride anti-reflection coating to enhance optical absorption in the intrinsic layer (i-a-Si:H) for the visible spectrum for any polarization angle. Predicted total optical enhancement (OE) in absorption in the i-a-Si:H for AM-1.5 solar spectrum is 18.51% as compared to the reference, and producing a 19.65% improvement in short-circuit current density (JSC) over 11.7 mA/cm2 for a reference cell. The JSC in the nano-disk patterned solar cell (NDPSC) was found to be higher than the commercial reference structure for any incident angle. The NDPSC has a multi-resonant optical response for the visible spectrum and the associated mechanism for OE in i-a-Si:H layer is excitation of Fabry-Perot resonance facilitated by surface plasmon resonances. The detrimental Staebler-Wronski effect in a-Si:H solar cell can be minimized by the additional OE in the NDPSC and self-annealing of defect states by additional heat generation, thus likely improving the overall stabilized characteristics of a-Si:H solar cells.
Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessar... more Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessarily constitute undesired resistive heating problem for photovoltaics. Tailoring the geometric skin depth of metals and employing the natural bulk absorbance characteristics of the semiconductors in those absorbers can enable the exchange of undesired resistive losses with the useful optical absorbance in the active semiconductors. Thus, Ohmic loss dominated metamaterial absorbers can be converted into photovoltaic near-perfect absorbers with the advantage of harvesting the full potential of light management offered by the metamaterial absorbers. Based on experimental permittivity data for indium gallium nitride, we have shown that between 75%-95% absorbance can be achieved in the semiconductor layers of the converted metamaterial absorbers. Besides other metamaterial and plasmonic devices, our results may also apply to photodectors and other metal or semiconductor based optical devices where resistive losses and power consumption are important pertaining to the device performance.
ABSTRACT Previous work has shown that high-temperature short-term spike thermal annealing of hydr... more ABSTRACT Previous work has shown that high-temperature short-term spike thermal annealing of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems results in higher electrical energy output. The relationship between temperature and performance of a-Si:H PVT is not simple as high temperatures during thermal annealing improves the immediate electrical performance following an anneal, but during the anneal it creates a marked drop in electrical performance. In addition, the power generation of a-Si:H PVT depends on both the environmental conditions and the Staebler-Wronski Effect kinetics. In order to improve the performance of a-Si:H PVT systems further, this paper reports on the effect of various dispatch strategies on system electrical performance. Utilizing experimental results from thermal annealing, an annealing model simulation for a-Si:H-based PVT was developed and applied to different cities in the U.S. to investigate potential geographic effects on the dispatch optimization of the overall electrical PVT systems performance and annual electrical yield. The results showed that spike thermal annealing once per day maximized the improved electrical energy generation.
A new approach for selection of Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR) for switching high pulsed curr... more A new approach for selection of Silicon-Controlled Rectifier (SCR) for switching high pulsed currents in the septum magnet power supply is described. In this approach, an attempt is made to select the SCR from its I 2 t rating given in data sheet. For this, a factor which we have called I 2 t derating factor is defined as the ratio of I 2 t rating of SCR to the I 2 t value of current pulse to be switched. Thus, the SCR to be used in power supply is selected from its I 2 t derating factor. Three different experiments were performed using SCR of different manufacturers, to estimate the value of I 2 t derating factors. In these experiments, the SCR was subjected to maximum thermal stress till SCR started showing degradation. The forward blocking voltage and the leakage current are the parameters used for characterizing the SCR before and after the stress. The results of these experiments are presented and discussed. This approach will be of great help when pulse rating of SCR, like, transient thermal impedance is not available. Finally, a method is presented which can contribute to design low-cost and high-reliability septum magnet power supply.
A wide range of medical devices have significant electronic components. Compared to open-source m... more A wide range of medical devices have significant electronic components. Compared to open-source medical software, open (and open-source) electronic hardware has been less published in peer-reviewed literature. In this review, we explore the developments, significance, and advantages of using open platform electronic hardware for medical devices. Open hardware electronics platforms offer not just shorter development times, reduced costs, and customization; they also offer a key potential advantage which current commercial medical devices lack—seamless data sharing for machine learning and artificial intelligence. We explore how various electronic platforms such as microcontrollers, single board computers, field programmable gate arrays, development boards, and integrated circuits have been used by researchers to design medical devices. Researchers interested in designing low cost, customizable, and innovative medical devices can find references to various easily available electronic ...
In the past few years, metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPA) have been extensively studied due to ... more In the past few years, metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPA) have been extensively studied due to their incredible ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves and provide a broadband, polarization-independent, and wide-angle response for a host of applications. The need for high-performance terahertz regime MPA is increasing for both the commercial and the military applications to provide concealment and shield objects. We report periodic arrays of tapered cylindrical heavily-doped silicon structures to realize an ultra-broadband and polarization independent THz perfect absorber for a wide-angle response. In this proposed structure, we deployed heavily-doped silicon to improve the THz absorption efficiency and bandwidth of the response, and secondly, the conventional microfabrication technology can be easily integrated to support the fabrication of this silicon-based MPA. In this work, we used COMSOL Multiphysics<sup>®</sup> to model the electromagnetic wave response of t...
The requirement for metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPA) based on doped semiconductors is steadil... more The requirement for metamaterial perfect absorbers (MPA) based on doped semiconductors is steadily increasing due to the available matured fabrication and simulation technology. There is a particular interest in developing terahertz (THz) perfect absorbers using doped semiconductors for achieving characteristics such as polarization-independence, wide-angle, and broadband absorption. We report MPA based on patterned arrays of tapered micro-cylindrical structures of doped silicon to enable them with broadband, wide-angle, and polarization-independent response. In this work, we modeled the MPA structures using COMSOL Multiphysics to evaluate its electromagnetic wave response using the software's RF Module running in parallel on a Beowulf cluster. We evaluated the doped silicon MPA structures for its response in the frequency spectrum of 0.1 to 5.0 THz for transverse magnetic and transverse electric polarizations at the normal and oblique incidence up to 75 degrees. This proposed d...
An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize de... more An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize design parameters for improving the optical absorption efficiency of plasmonic solar cells (PSC). This approach is based on formulating the parameters extraction as a search and optimization process in order to maximize the optical absorption in the PSC. Determining the physical parameters of three-dimensional (3-D) PSC is critical for designing and estimating their performance, however, due to the complex design of the PSC, parameters extraction is time and calculation intensive. In this paper, this technique is demonstrated for the case of commercial thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic cells enhanced through patterned silver nano-disk plasmonic structures. The DE optimization of PSC structures was performed to execute a real-time parameter search and optimization. The predicted optical enhancement (OE) in optical absorption in the active layer of the PSC ...
HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific re... more HAL is a multidisciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessar... more Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessarily constitute undesired resistive heating problem for photovoltaics. Tailoring the geometric skin depth of metals and employing the natural bulk absorbance characteristics of the semiconductors in those absorbers can enable the exchange of undesired resistive losses with the useful optical absorbance in the active semiconductors. Thus, Ohmic loss dominated metamaterial absorbers can be converted into photovoltaic near-perfect absorbers with the advantage of harvesting the full potential of light management offered by the metamaterial absorbers. Based on experimental permittivity data for indium gallium nitride, we have shown that between 75%-95% absorbance can be achieved in the semiconductor layers of the converted metamaterial absorbers. Besides other metamaterial and plasmonic devices, our results may also apply to photodectors and other metal or semiconductor based optical devices w...
This paper presents investigated results of copper-oxide nanowires used as a humidity sensor. Cop... more This paper presents investigated results of copper-oxide nanowires used as a humidity sensor. Copper-oxide nanowires films were grown over cross-comb type gold electrodes on a SiO2 substrate using thermal annealing technique, and its humidity sensitive characteristics were investigated through resistance across the gold electrodes. These copper-oxide nanowires films revealed high sensitivity and long-term stability with fast response time. It was found that resistance across gold electrodes of the fabricated sensor decreases with increase in humidity almost linearly on a logarithmic scale. It appears that copper-oxide nanowires can be used as low-cost humidity sensor with high output reliability and reproduction rate. The observations were carried out at room temperature (RT) and relative humidity (RH) in the range of 6% to 97%.
An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize de... more An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize design parameters for improving the optical absorption efficiency of plasmonic solar cells (PSC). This approach is based on formulating the parameters extraction as a search and optimization process in order to maximize the optical absorption in the PSC. Determining the physical parameters of three-dimensional (3-D) PSC is critical for designing and estimating their performance, however, due to the complex design of the PSC, parameters extraction is time and calculation intensive. In this paper, this technique is demonstrated for the case of commercial thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic cells enhanced through patterned silver nano-disk plasmonic structures. The DE optimization of PSC structures was performed to execute a real-time parameter search and optimization. The predicted optical enhancement (OE) in optical absorption in the active layer of the PSC for AM-1.5 solar spectrum was found to be over 19.45% higher compared to the reference cells. The proposed technique offers higher accuracy and automates the tuning of control parameters of PSC in a time-efficient manner.
A new method of preparing highly conductive ultra-thin indium tin oxide for plasmonic-enhanced th... more A new method of preparing highly conductive ultra-thin indium tin oxide for plasmonic-enhanced thin film solar photovoltaic devices. Abstract Recent numerical modeling of plasmonic metallic nanostructures have shown great potential as a method of light management in thin-film nanodisc-patterned hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. A significant design challenge for such plasmonic-enhanced PV devices is the requirement for ultra-thin transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) with high transmittance (low loss) and low enough resistivity to be used as device top contacts/electrodes. Most work on TCOs is on relatively thick layers and the few reported cases of thin TCO showed a marked decrease in conductivity. Recent work on ultra-thin TCOs of aluminum-doped zinc oxide, indium-doped tin oxide and zinc oxide revealed an unavoidable trade-off between transmittance and resistivity when fabricated with conventional growth methods. Ultra-thin films showed a tendency to be either amorphous and continuous or form as isolated islands. This results in poor electrical properties, which cannot be improved with annealing as the delicate thin films nucleate to form grain clusters. In order to overcome this challenge, this study investigates a novel method of producing ultra-thin (&lt;40 nm) high quality TCOs. First, ~80nm ITO films are sputtered in various argon-oxygen atmospheres and annealed to increase conductivity. The most promising materials were then reduced in thickness with a controlled low-cost room-temperature cyclic wet chemical etching process to reach the desired thickness. The degradation in the electrical conductivity was tracked as a function of thickness. The sheet resistance of 36nm thin films was observed to be of the same order compared to the much thicker commercial ITO films currently used as transparent electrodes in PV and other opto-electronic devices. Experimental optical properties of the shaved films were then used in an optimized model of nano-disc plasmonic a-Si:H solar cells. Simulations indicate that optical enhancement greater than 21% are possible in the 300 – 730 nm wavelength range, when compared to the reference cell. Using the novel chemical shaving method described here, high-quality ultra-thin ITO films capable of improving the efficiency of thin film a-Si:H solar cells have been demonstrated. The methods employed in the optimization process are well established and economically viable, which provide the technical potential for commercialization of plasmonic based solar cells. A new method of preparing highly conductive ultra-thin indium tin oxide for plasmonic-enhanced thin film solar photovoltaic devices.
Metals in the plasmonic metamaterial absorbers for photovoltaics constitute undesired resistive h... more Metals in the plasmonic metamaterial absorbers for photovoltaics constitute undesired resistive heating. However, tailoring the geometric skin depth of metals can minimize resistive losses while maximizing the optical absorbance in the active semiconductors of the photovoltaic device. Considering experimental permittivity data for InxGa1-xN, absorbance in the semiconductor layers of the photovoltaic device can reach above 90%. The results here also provides guidance to compare the performance of different semiconductor materials. This skin depth engineering approach can also be applied to other optoelectronic devices, where optimizing the device performance demands minimizing resistive losses and power consumption, such as photodetectors, laser diodes, and light emitting diodes.
Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 2015
This study investigates ultra-thin transparent conducting oxides (TCO) of indium tin oxide (ITO),... more This study investigates ultra-thin transparent conducting oxides (TCO) of indium tin oxide (ITO), aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) to determine their viability as candidate materials for use in plasmonic-enhanced thin-film amorphous silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) devices. First a sensitivity analysis of the optical absorption for the intrinsic layer of a nano-disk patterned thin-film amorphous silicon-based solar cell as a function of TCO thickness (10–50 nm) was performed by simulation. These simulation results were then used to guide the design of the experimental work which investigated both optical and electrical properties of ultra-thin (10 nm on average) films simultaneously deposited on both glass and silicon substrates using conventional rf sputtering. The effects of deposition and post-processing parameters on material properties of ITO, AZO and ZnO ultra-thin TCOs were probed and the suitability of TCOs for integration into plasmonic-enhanced thin-film solar PV devices was assessed. The results show that ultra-thin TCOs present a number of challenges for use as thin top contacts on plasmonic-enhanced PV devices: (1) optical and electrical parameters differ greatly from those of thicker (bulk) films deposited under the same conditions, (2) the films are delicate due to their thickness, requiring very long annealing times to prevent cracking, and (3) reactive gases require careful monitoring to maintain stoichiometry. The results presented here found a trade-off between conductivity and transparency of the deposited films. Although the sub 50 nm TCO films investigated exhibited desirable optical properties (transmittance greater than 80 %), their resistivity was too high to be considered as materials for the top contact of conventional PV devices. Future work is necessary to improve thin TCO properties, or alternative materials, and geometries are needed in plasmonic-based amorphous silicon solar cells. The stability of ultra-thin TCO films also needs to be experimentally investigated under normal device operating conditions.
In the last decade, nano-structured materials have gained a significant interest for applications... more In the last decade, nano-structured materials have gained a significant interest for applications in solar cells and other optical and opto-electronic devices. Due to carrier confinement, the absorption characteristics in these structures are quite different from the absorption in bulk materials and thin films. Optical absorption coefficients of a silicon nano-wire are obtained based on a semi-classical model where the photon-electron interaction is described by the interaction of an electromagnetic wave with the electrons in the valence band of a semiconductor. The absorption characteristics showed enhanced optical absorption but no resonant peaks. In our modified model, we have identified optically active inter band transitions by performing electronic structure calculations on unit cells of nano-dimensions. The absorption spectrum obtained here shows explicit excitonic processes. This absorption is tunable from the visible region to near UV portion of the solar spectrum. In our p...
We study polarization independent improved light trapping in commercial thin film hydrogenated am... more We study polarization independent improved light trapping in commercial thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar photovoltaic cells using a three-dimensional silver array of multi-resonant nano-disk structures embedded in a silicon nitride anti-reflection coating to enhance optical absorption in the intrinsic layer (i-a-Si:H) for the visible spectrum for any polarization angle. Predicted total optical enhancement (OE) in absorption in the i-a-Si:H for AM-1.5 solar spectrum is 18.51% as compared to the reference, and producing a 19.65% improvement in short-circuit current density (JSC) over 11.7 mA/cm2 for a reference cell. The JSC in the nano-disk patterned solar cell (NDPSC) was found to be higher than the commercial reference structure for any incident angle. The NDPSC has a multi-resonant optical response for the visible spectrum and the associated mechanism for OE in i-a-Si:H layer is excitation of Fabry-Perot resonance facilitated by surface plasmon resonances. The detrimental Staebler-Wronski effect in a-Si:H solar cell can be minimized by the additional OE in the NDPSC and self-annealing of defect states by additional heat generation, thus likely improving the overall stabilized characteristics of a-Si:H solar cells.
Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessar... more Using metamaterial absorbers, we have shown that metallic layers in the absorbers do not necessarily constitute undesired resistive heating problem for photovoltaics. Tailoring the geometric skin depth of metals and employing the natural bulk absorbance characteristics of the semiconductors in those absorbers can enable the exchange of undesired resistive losses with the useful optical absorbance in the active semiconductors. Thus, Ohmic loss dominated metamaterial absorbers can be converted into photovoltaic near-perfect absorbers with the advantage of harvesting the full potential of light management offered by the metamaterial absorbers. Based on experimental permittivity data for indium gallium nitride, we have shown that between 75%-95% absorbance can be achieved in the semiconductor layers of the converted metamaterial absorbers. Besides other metamaterial and plasmonic devices, our results may also apply to photodectors and other metal or semiconductor based optical devices where resistive losses and power consumption are important pertaining to the device performance.
ABSTRACT Previous work has shown that high-temperature short-term spike thermal annealing of hydr... more ABSTRACT Previous work has shown that high-temperature short-term spike thermal annealing of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems results in higher electrical energy output. The relationship between temperature and performance of a-Si:H PVT is not simple as high temperatures during thermal annealing improves the immediate electrical performance following an anneal, but during the anneal it creates a marked drop in electrical performance. In addition, the power generation of a-Si:H PVT depends on both the environmental conditions and the Staebler-Wronski Effect kinetics. In order to improve the performance of a-Si:H PVT systems further, this paper reports on the effect of various dispatch strategies on system electrical performance. Utilizing experimental results from thermal annealing, an annealing model simulation for a-Si:H-based PVT was developed and applied to different cities in the U.S. to investigate potential geographic effects on the dispatch optimization of the overall electrical PVT systems performance and annual electrical yield. The results showed that spike thermal annealing once per day maximized the improved electrical energy generation.
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Papers by Ankit Vora