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Standing waves in fiber-optic interferometers

De Haan, V. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Tijssen, M. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

A study is presented giving the response of three types of fiber-optic interferometers by which a standing wave through an object is investigated. The three types are a Sagnac, Mach–Zehnder and Michelson–Morley interferometer. The response of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer is similar to the Sagnac interferometer. However, the Sagnac...

journal article 2011

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Responses of simple optical standing wave sensors

De Haan, V.O. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Tijssen, M. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

Optical standing wave sensors have been manufactured by amorphous silicon deposition. The responses of these sensors, when subjected to standing waves, have been calculated and measured. It is shown that the responses are different depending on the way the standing wave is created. The responses also depend on the thickness and material...

journal article 2012

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Advanced Light Management Approaches for Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author), Jäger, K. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Solntsev, S. (author), Topic, M. (author), Krc, J. (author)

Light management is important for improving the performance of thin-film solar cells. Advanced concepts of efficient light scattering and trapping inside the cell structures need to be investigated. An important tool for design and optimisation of the concepts present optical modelling and simulation. In the article a model of light scattering...

journal article 2012

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The role of oxide interlayers in back reflector configurations for amorphous silicon solar cells

Demontis, V. (author), Sanna, C. (author), Melskens, J. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author), Damiano, A. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

Thin oxide interlayers are commonly added to the back reflector of thin-film silicon solar cells to increase their current. To gain more insight in the enhancement mechanism, we tested different back reflector designs consisting of aluminium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) and/or hydrogenated silicon oxide (SiOx:H) interlayers with different metals ...

journal article 2013

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Optical model for multilayer structures with coherent, partly coherent and incoherent layers

Santbergen, R. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

We present a novel approach for modeling the reflectance, transmittance and absorption depth profile of thin-film multilayer structures such as solar cells. Our model is based on the net-radiation method adapted for coherent calculations and is highly flexible while using a simple algorithm. We demonstrate that as a result arbitrary multilayer...

journal article 2013

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Improved light trapping in microcrystalline silicon solar cells by plasmonic back reflector with broad angular scattering and low parasitic absorption

Tan, H. (author), Sivec, L. (author), Yan, B. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author)

We show experimentally that the photocurrent of thin-film hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (?c-Si:H) solar cells can be enhanced by 4.5?mA/cm2 with a plasmonic back reflector (BR). The light trapping performance is improved using plasmonic BR with broader angular scattering and lower parasitic absorption loss through tuning the size of...

journal article 2013

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Enhancing the driving field for plasmonic nanoparticles in thin-film solar cells

Santbergen, R. (author), Hairen, T. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author)

The scattering cross-section of a plasmonic nanoparticle is proportional to the intensity of the electric field that drives the plasmon resonance. In this work we determine the driving field pattern throughout a complete thin-film silicon solar cell. Our simulations reveal that by tuning of the thicknesses of silicon and transparent conductive...

journal article 2014

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Quadruple-junction thin-film silicon-based solar cells with high open-circuit voltage

Si, F.T. (author), Kim, D. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Tan, H. (author), Van Swaaij, R.A.C.M.M. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author), Isabella, O. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

journal article 2014

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Optimized back Reflectors for Rear Diffused c-Si Solar Cells

Ingenito, A. (author), Ortiz Lizcano, J.C. (author), Luxembourg, S.L. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Weeber, A. (author), Isabella, O. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

At present, research in c-Si solar cells is focused on increasing the efficiency while reducing the amount of used materials. Since silicon wafer and metal contribute up to 50% to the cost of a module, it is crucial to reduce the amount of these materials to fabricate cost-effective modules. In particular, for reducing the consumption of metal,...

journal article 2014

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Plasmonic nanoparticle films for solar cell applications fabricated by size-selective aerosol deposition

Pfeiffer, T.V. (author), Ortiz Gonzalez, J. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Tan, H. (author), Schmidt-Ott, A. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author)

A soft deposition method for incorporating surface plasmon resonant metal nanoparticles within photovoltaic devices was studied. This self-assembly method provides excellent control over both nanoparticle size and surface coverage. Films of spherical Ag nanoparticles with diameter of ?100 nm were fabricated by depositing size-selected aerosols...

conference paper 2014

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Minimizing optical losses in monolithic perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells with a flat top cell

Santbergen, R. (author), Mishima, Ryoto (author), Meguro, Tomomi (author), Hino, Masashi (author), Uzu, Hisashi (author), Blanker, A.J. (author), Yamamoto, Kenji (author), Zeman, M. (author)

In a monolithic perovskite/c-Si tandem device, the perovskite top cell has to be deposited onto a flat c-Si bottom cell without anti-reflective front side texture, to avoid fabrication issues. We use optical simulations to analyze the reflection losses that this induces. We then systematically minimize these losses by introducing surface...

journal article 2016

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GenPro4 Optical Model for Solar Cell Simulation and Its Application to Multijunction Solar Cells

Santbergen, R. (author), Meguro, Tomomi (author), Suezaki, Takashi (author), Koizumi, Gensuke (author), Yamamoto, Kenji (author), Zeman, M. (author)

We present a new version of our optical model for solar cell simulation: GenPro4. Its working principles are briefly explained. The model is suitable for quickly and accurately simulating a wide range of wafer-based and thin-film solar cells. Especially adjusting layer thicknesses to match the currents in multijunction devices can be done...

journal article 2017

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Calculation of irradiance distribution on PV modules by combining sky and sensitivity maps

Santbergen, R. (author), Muthukumar, V.A. (author), Valckenborg, R.M.E. (author), van de Wall, W.J.A. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

Photovoltaic (PV) modules receive both direct light from the sun and scattered light from the sky, ground and nearby objects. The calculation of incident irradiance becomes complex when nearby objects cast shadows or reflect sunlight onto the PV modules. In this paper a flexible irradiance model is presented that takes all these effects into...

journal article 2017

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Maximizing annual yield of bifacial photovoltaic noise barriers

Faturrochman, G.J. (author), de Jong, M.M. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Folkerts, W. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author)

In this work we consider noise barriers with integrated photovoltaic modules. The novelty is that bifacial modules are considered. A full scale bifacial photovoltaic noise barrier was built and its power output was monitored. In addition we developed an advanced numerical model for predicting this power output for given weather conditions....

journal article 2018

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A photovoltaic window with sun-tracking shading elements towards maximum power generation and non-glare daylighting

Gao, Y. (author), Dong, J. (author), Isabella, O. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Tan, H. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Zhang, Kouchi (author)

Vertical space bears great potential of solar energy especially for congested urban areas, where photovoltaic (PV) windows in high-rise buildings can contribute to both power generation and daylight harvest. Previous studies on sun-tracking PV windows strayed into the trade-off between tracking performance and mutual shading, failing to achieve...

journal article 2018

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Optimization of Three-Terminal Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

Santbergen, R. (author), Uzu, Hisashi (author), Yamamoto, Kenji (author), Zeman, M. (author)

We use simulations to optimize perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells in a novel three-terminal configuration, with one terminal at the front and two at the rear. We consider configurations in which the top cell has either the inverted or the same polarity as the bottom cell. Our goal is to minimize the optical losses, to compare the...

journal article 2019

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Optical characterization of poly-SiO_x and poly-SiC_x carrier-selective passivating contacts

Singh, M. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Madrampazakis, A. (author), Yang, G. (author), Vismara, R. (author), Remes, Z. (author), Weeber, A.W. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

The optical modelling for optimizing high-efficiency c-Si solar cells endowed with poly-SiO_x or poly-SiC_x carrier-selective passivating contacts (CSPCs) demands a thorough understanding of their optical properties, especially their absorption coefficient. Due to the mixed phase nature of these CSPCs, spectroscopic...

journal article 2020

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Room-temperature sputtered tungsten-doped indium oxide for improved current in silicon heterojunction solar cells

Han, C. (author), Zhao, Y. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Bento Montes, A.R. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Yang, G. (author), Zhang, Xiaodan (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

The window layers limit the performance of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells with front and back contacts. Here, we optimized tungsten-doped indium oxide (IWO) film deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The opto-electrical properties of the IWO were manipulated when deposited on top of thin-film silicon...

journal article 2021

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Colored optic filters on c-Si IBC solar cells for building integrated photovoltaic applications

Ortiz Lizcano, J.C. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Calcabrini, A. (author), Yang, G. (author), Ingenito, Andrea (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Building Integrated Photovoltaic systems can produce a significant portion of the energy demand of urban areas. Despite their potential, they remain a niche technology that architects and project engineers still find esthetically limited. The dark blue or black color of standard photovoltaic panels is considered inappropriate for restoration...

journal article 2021

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Comparing optical performance of a wide range of perovskite/silicon tandem architectures under real-world conditions

Singh, M. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Syifai, Indra (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Since single junction c-Si solar cells are reaching their practical efficiency limit. Perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells hold the promise of achieving greater than 30% efficiencies. In this regard, optical simulations can deliver guidelines for reducing the parasitic absorption losses and increasing the photocurrent density of the tandem...

journal article 2021