Photogenerated Carrier Transport Properties in Silicon Photovoltaics.

Electrical transport parameters for active layers in silicon (Si) wafer solar cells are determined from free carrier optical absorption using non-contacting optical Hall effect measurements. Majority carrier transport parameters [carrier concentration (N), mobility (μ), and conductivity effective mass (m*)] are determined for both the n-type emitter and p-type bulk wafer Si of an industrially produced aluminum back surface field (Al-BSF) photovoltaic device. From measurements under 0 and ±1.

Plasmonic nanocrystal solar cells utilizing strongly confined radiation.

The ability of metal nanoparticles to concentrate light via the plasmon resonance represents a unique opportunity for funneling the solar energy in photovoltaic devices. The absorption enhancement in plasmonic solar cells is predicted to be particularly prominent when the size of metal features falls below 20 nm, causing the strong confinement of radiation modes. Unfortunately, the ultrashort lifetime of such near-field radiation makes harvesting the plasmon energy in small-diameter nanoparticles a challenging task.