Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 1.15
The effect of
R
s
and
R
sh
on I-V curves of PVsolar cells.
the device, and materials used. The leakage resistance (or the shunt
resistance) must be increased (ideally
R
sh
→∞
). This can be
achieved by minimising the R&G process and plugging any pinholes
and other conducting paths in the material (Fig. 1.15).
1.6 Next-Generation Solar Cells
Next-generation solar cells will be developed based on various
systems. Some of these devices are based on organic materials, dye-
sensitised systems, and nanomaterials. However, the next stages
of solar cells based on the most matured materials — inorganic
semiconductors — have the highest potential to contribute towards
solar energy conversion. This topic, therefore, concentrates only on
next-generationsolar cells based on inorganic materials.
The basic interfaces used in solar cell devices are briefly
described in this chapter. The next stage is to move forward and
combine these basic interfaces to form more advanced PV devices.
The aim is to effectively absorb the photons in almost all parts of
the solar spectrum, create as many e-h pairs as possible, utilise
other possible mechanisms such as impact ionisation and impurity
