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Will SiOx-pinholes for SiOx/poly-Si passivating contact enhance the passivation quality?

Yang, G. (author), Gram, Remon (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Han, C. (author), Yao, Z. (author), Singh, M. (author), Zhao, Y. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Passivating contacts based on poly-Si have enabled record-high c-Si solar cell efficiencies due to their excellent surface passivation quality and carrier selectivity. The eventual existence of pinholes within the ultra-thin SiOx layer is one of the key factors for carrier collection, beside the tunneling mechanism. However, pinholes are usually...

journal article 2023

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Silicon heterojunction solar cells with up to 26.81% efficiency achieved by electrically optimized nanocrystalline-silicon hole contact layers

Lin, H. (author), Yang, Miao (author), Ru, Xiaoning (author), Wang, Genshun (author), Yin, Shi (author), Peng, Fuguo (author), Han, C. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells have reached high power conversion efficiency owing to their effective passivating contact structures. Improvements in the optoelectronic properties of these contacts can enable higher device efficiency, thus further consolidating the commercial potential of SHJ technology. Here we increase the...

journal article 2023

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Poly-SiO_x Passivating Contacts with Plasma-Assisted N₂O Oxidation of Silicon (PANO-SiO_x)

Yao, Z. (author), Yang, G. (author), Han, C. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Özkol, E. (author), Yan, J. (author), Zhao, Y. (author), Cao, L. (author), van Swaaij, R.A.C.M.M. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Passivating contacts are crucial for realizing high-performance crystalline silicon solar cells. Herein, contact formation by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) followed by an annealing step is focused on. Poly-SiO_x passivating contacts by combining plasma-assisted N₂O-based oxidation of silicon (PANO-SiO...

journal article 2023

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Optical Simulation-Aided Design and Engineering of Monolithic Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells

Zhao, Y. (author), Datta, Kunal (author), Paggiaro, Giulia (author), Liu, Hanchen (author), Fardousi, Mohua (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Han, C. (author), Yang, G. (author), Weeber, A.W. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Monolithic perovskite/c-Si tandem solar cells have attracted enormous research attention and have achieved efficiencies above 30%. This work describes the development of monolithic tandem solar cells based on silicon heterojunction (SHJ) bottom- and perovskite top-cells and highlights light management techniques assisted by optical simulation...

journal article 2023

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Strategies for realizing high-efficiency silicon heterojunction solar cells

Zhao, Y. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Han, C. (author), Cao, L. (author), Yang, G. (author), Özkol, E. (author), Alcañiz, Alba (author), Kovačević, K. (author), Limodio, G. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author), Weeber, A.W. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells have achieved a record efficiency of 26.81% in a front/back-contacted (FBC) configuration. Moreover, thanks to their advantageous high V_OC and good infrared response, SHJ solar cells can be further combined with wide bandgap perovskite cells forming tandem devices to enable efficiencies well...

journal article 2023

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Slow Shallow Energy States as the Origin of Hysteresis in Perovskite Solar Cells

van Heerden, Rik (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Organic-inorganic metal halide perovskites have attracted a considerable interest in the photovoltaic scientific community demonstrating a rapid and unprecedented increase in conversion efficiency in the last decade. Besides the stunning progress in performance, the understanding of the physical mechanisms and limitations that govern perovskite...

journal article 2022

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Oxygen-alloyed poly-Si passivating contacts for high-thermal budget c-Si heterojunction solar cells

Yang, G. (author), Han, C. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Zhao, Y. (author), Singh, M. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Crystalline silicon solar cells with passivating contacts based on doped poly-Si exhibit high optical parasitic losses. Aiming at minimizing these losses, we developed the oxygen-alloyed poly-Si (poly-SiOx) as suitable material for passivating contacts. From passivation point of view, poly-SiOx layers show excellent passivation quality and...

journal article 2022

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The fundamental operation mechanisms of nc-SiO_X≥0:H based tunnel recombination junctions revealed

de Vrijer, T. (author), van Nijen, D.A. (author), Parasramka, Harsh (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Zhao, Y. (author), Isabella, O. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author)

Two terminal multi-junction (MJ) photovoltaic (PV) devices are well established concepts to increase the solar-to-electrical power conversion in reference to single PV junctions. In multi-junction PV devices two consecutive sub-cells are interconnected using a tunnel recombination junction (TRJ) in which the light excited holes of one sub...

journal article 2022

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Towards bifacial silicon heterojunction solar cells with reduced TCO use

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

Reducing indium consumption, which is related to the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) use, is a key challenge for scaling up silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cell technology to terawatt level. In this work, we developed bifacial SHJ solar cells with reduced TCO thickness. We present three types of In₂O₃-based TCOs,...

journal article 2022

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Raman spectroscopy of silicon with nanostructured surface

Kadlečíková, Magdaléna (author), Vančo, Ľubomír (author), Breza, Juraj (author), Mikolášek, Miroslav (author), Hušeková, Kristína (author), Fröhlich, Karol (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

We compared the morphology and Raman response of nanoscale shaped surfaces of Si substrates versus monocrystalline Si. Samples were structured by reactive ion etching, and four of them were covered by a RuO₂-IrO₂ layer. Raman bands, centred at approx. 520 cm^–1, belonging to samples processed by etching the Si...

journal article 2022

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Introducing a comprehensive physics-based modelling framework for tandem and other PV systems

Vogt, M.R. (author), Ruiz Tobon, C.M. (author), Alcañiz Moya, A. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Blom, Y. (author), Nour El Din, A. (author), Stark, T. (author), Wang, Z. (author), Goma, E. Garcia (author), Etxebarria, J. G. (author), Ziar, H. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

We introduce a novel simulation tool capable of calculating the energy yield of a PV system based on its fundamental material properties and using self-consistent models. Thus, our simulation model can operate without measurements of a PV device. It combines wave and ray optics and a dedicated semiconductor simulation to model the...

journal article 2022

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Achieving 23.83% conversion efficiency in silicon heterojunction solar cell with ultra-thin MoO_x hole collector layer via tailoring (i)a-Si:H/MoO_x interface

Cao, L. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Alcañiz Moya, A. (author), Yan, J. (author), Tichelaar, F.D. (author), Özkol, E. (author), Zhao, Y. (author), Han, C. (author), Yang, G. (author), Yao, Z. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Thin films of transition metal oxides such as molybdenum oxide (MoO_x) are attractive for application in silicon heterojunction solar cells for their potential to yield large short-circuit current density. However, full control of electrical properties of thin MoO_x layers must be mastered to obtain an efficient hole...

journal article 2022

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Erratum to: Sub-gap defect density characterization of molybdenum oxide: An annealing study for solar cell applications (Nano Research, (2020), 13, 12, (3416-3424), 10.1007/s12274-020-3029-9)

Scire, D. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Gulino, Antonino (author), Isabella, O. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Crupi, Isodiana (author)

Ref. [56] was unfortunately wrong, Instead of [56] Corless, R. M.; Gonnet, G. H.; Hare, D. E. G.; Jeffrey, D. J.; Knuth, D. E. On the Lambert W function. Adv. Comput. Math. 1996, 5, 329–359. It should be changed to Biswas, R. K.; Khan, P.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukhopadhyay, A. K.; Ghosh, J.; Muraleedharan, K. Study of short range structure of...

journal article 2022

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Effects of (i)a-Si: H deposition temperature on high-efficiency silicon heterojunction solar cells

Zhao, Y. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Smets, A.H.M. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Han, C. (author), Yang, G. (author), Cao, L. (author), Yao, Z. (author), Weeber, A.W. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Excellent surface passivation induced by (i)a-Si:H is critical to achieve high-efficiency silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. This is key for conventional single-junction cell applications but also for bottom cell application in tandem devices. In this study, we investigated the effects of (i)a-Si:H deposition temperature on passivation...

journal article 2022

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Controllable Simultaneous Bifacial Cu-Plating for High-Efficiency Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Han, C. (author), Yang, G. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), O'Connor, D. (author), Zhao, Y. (author), Gopalakrishnan, Anirudh (author), Zhang, Xiaodan (author), Zeman, M. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Bifacial (BF) copper-plated crystalline silicon solar cell is an attractive topic to concurrently reduce silver consumption and maintain good device performance. However, it is still challenging to realize a high aspect ratio (AR) of the metal fingers. Herein, a new type of hybrid-shaped Cu finger is electromagnetically fabricated in a BF...

journal article 2022

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Low-breakdown-voltage solar cells for shading-tolerant photovoltaic modules

Calcabrini, A. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Kambhampati, V. (author), Manganiello, P. (author), Muttillo, M. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

The integration of photovoltaic (PV) technology in urban environments poses new challenges for the design of PV modules. In particular, the poor shading tolerance of conventional PV modules strongly limits the energy performance of urban PV systems. In this work, we analyze how interdigitated back-contact solar cells with low-breakdown...

journal article 2022

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Concepts for heat utilization and passive cooling techniques to improve reliability and performance of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

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

When integrated into urban environments, photovoltaic (PV) systems usually present operational temperatures that are significantly higher than those shown by rack-mounted systems. High operating temperatures are associated with reduced reliability of PV modules and significantly impact the electrical performance of solar cells. Utilizing the...

journal article 2022

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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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Design and optimization of hole collectors based on nc-SiO_x:H for high-efficiency silicon heterojunction solar cells

Zhao, Y. (author), Procel Moya, P.A. (author), Han, C. (author), Mazzarella, L. (author), Yang, G. (author), Weeber, A.W. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Low activation energy (E_a) and wide bandgap (E_g) are essential for (p)-contacts to achieve effective hole collection in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. In this work, we study Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition p-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon oxide, (p)nc-SiO_x:H, combined with (p)nc...

journal article 2021