document

Effect of Climate on Photovoltaic Yield Prediction Using Machine Learning Models

Alcañiz Moya, A. (author), Lindfors, Anders V. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Ziar, H. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Machine learning is arising as a major solution for the photovoltaic (PV) power prediction. Despite the abundant literature, the effect of climate on yield predictions using machine learning is unknown. This work aims to find climatic trends by predicting the power of 48 PV systems around the world, equally divided into four climates. An...

journal article 2022

document

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

document

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

document

Thermal Stable High-Efficiency Copper Screen Printed Back Contact Solar Cells

Chen, N. (author), Rudolph, Dominik (author), Peter, Christoph (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author), Rosen, Yitzchak (author), Grouchko, Michael (author), Shochet, Ofer (author), Mihailetchi, Valentin D. (author)

The high usage of silver in industrial solar cells may limit the growth of the solar industry. One solution is to replace Ag with copper. A screen printable Cu paste is used herein to metallize industrial interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells. A novel metallization structure is proposed for making solar cells. Cu paste is applied to...

journal article 2022

document

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

document

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

document

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

document

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

document

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

document

Passivation Enhancement of Poly-Si Carrier-Selective Contacts by Applying ALD Al_2O_3 Capping Layers

Yang, G. (author), Van de Loo, Bas (author), Stodolny, Maciej (author), Limodio, G. (author), Melskens, Jimmy (author), Isabella, O. (author), Weeber, A.W. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Kessels, W. M.M. (author)

Hydrogenation of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) passivating contacts is crucial for maximizing their passivation performance. This work presents the application of Al2O3 prepared by atomic layer deposition as a hydrogenating capping layer. Several important questions related to this application of Al2O3 are addressed by comparing results...

journal article 2021

document

A Comprehensive Workflow for High Resolution 3D Solar Photovoltaic Potential Mapping in Dense Urban Environment: A Case Study on Campus of Delft University of Technology

Zhou, Y. (author), Verkou, M.H. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Ziar, H. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Photovoltaic (PV) technology is the most promising renewable energy source to be integrated on urban building surfaces. Modeling and simulating urban PV systems pose more challenges than the conventional ones installed in open field due to rich urban morphology. Herein, a comprehensive workflow to estimate urban solar PV potential is...

journal article 2021

document

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

document

A fully reconfigurable series-parallel photovoltaic module for higher energy yields in urban environments

Calcabrini, A. (author), Muttillo, M. (author), Weegink, Raoul (author), Manganiello, P. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Photovoltaic modules in the urban environment are very often exposed to uneven illumination conditions. The electrical interconnection between solar cells in a photovoltaic module limits the power that a solar module can generate under partial shading conditions. In this article, we introduce a PV module that is able to dynamically reconfigure...

journal article 2021

document

Advancement in screen printed fire through silver paste metallisation of polysilicon based passivating contacts

Chaudhary, A. (author), Hoß, Jan (author), Lossen, Jan (author), van Swaaij, R.A.C.M.M. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

We have metallised n+ polysilicon passivated layer structures deposited by Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD) with silver pastes. We analysed recombination at the metal contacts by photoluminescence imaging of metallised lifetime samples and found for the best paste, metal semiconductor recombination current density values (J0met)...

conference paper 2021

document

Simulation study of the electrical yield of various PV module topologies in partially shaded urban scenarios

Calcabrini, A. (author), Weegink, Raoul (author), Manganiello, P. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author)

Urban environments present a great potential to generate electricity with photovoltaic technology. However, this electricity cannot be fully harvested using conventional solar modules that have been designed for open landscapes. In urban environments, photovoltaic modules can often be subject to partial shading caused by trees and building...

journal article 2021

document

Characterization of the defect density states in MoO_x for c-Si solar cell applications

Scire, D. (author), Macaluso, Robert (author), Mosca, Mauro (author), Mirabella, S. (author), Gulino, Antonino (author), Isabella, O. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Crupi, I. (author)

Thin layers of MoO_x have been deposited by thermal evaporation followed by post-deposition annealing. The density of states distributions of the MoO_x films were extracted deconvoluting the absorption spectra, measured by a photothermal deflection spectroscopy setup, including the small polaron contribution. Results...

journal article 2021

document

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

document

Solar cells based on n⁺-AZO/p-BaSi₂ heterojunction: Advanced opto-electrical modelling and experimental demonstration

Yamashita, Yudai (author), Ruiz Tobon, C.M. (author), Santbergen, R. (author), Zeman, M. (author), Isabella, O. (author), Suemasu, Takashi (author)

We performed advanced opto-electrical simulations on thin-film BaSi₂ solar cells. First, absorption spectra of BaSi₂-pn homojunction solar cells on Si substrate were calculated based on flat and/or pyramidally-textured surfaces, wherein 20-nm-thick n⁺-BaSi₂ was the topmost electron transport layer....

journal article 2021

document

A Multi-layer Modelling Framework for Techno-Socio-Economical Penetration of Photovoltaics

Verkou, M.H. (author), Ahmad, Z. (author), Ziar, H. (author), Isabella, O. (author), Zeman, M. (author)

Urban areas rely on the wide implementation of X-Integrated Photovoltaic (X-IPV) systems to provide green electricity for the sustainable electrification. In this research, a modelling framework to accurately predicting their output energy yield and asses their impact on the low voltage distribution grid has been developed. This tool can compute...

conference paper 2021

document

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