Cadmium Selenide is a binary compound. It has a band gap of 1.7 eV. This is one of the suitable materials for an absorber layer in the top cell of a tandem solar cell. CIGS with a low Gallium content has a band gap of 1 eV suits well as an absorber layer for the bottom cell. CIGS cells have already attained an efficiency of 15% [1,2]. Since years, research has been done in developing the bottom cell. The results of the bottom cell are promising. So the fabrication of an efficient top cell in a tandem solar cell is a challenge. To achieve a high tandem efficiency of above 25 %, the top cell has to contribute at least 2/3 of the total efficiency, which necessitates the top cell to have at least 16 to 18 % efficiency [3]. Development of a defect free absorber layer is a crucial step in this process to achieve the above goals besides optimizing other layers. Selenium vacancies in CdSe make the absorber layer n-type. CdSe is deposited by closed space sublimation. Deposition of CdSe at higher substrate temperatures in comparison to the standard conditions was studied. ZnSe acts as an insulating layer. It is thermally evaporated in an Evaporation system. Copper acts as a metal contact on top of the insulator resulting in a MIS structure. Copper is also deposited by Thermal Evaporation. Devices are fabricated on different substrates like SnO2: F, AZO etc. Fabricated cells are characterized by J-V and Spectral response measurements. Devices fabricated on SnO2: F substrates show typical open circuit voltages of around 220 mV, short circuit current densities of 10.02 mA/cm2 and fill factors around 33 %. N-type CdS when deposited on SnO2: F below the absorber layer further improved Voc's to around 330 mV. Annealing of these devices improved Voc's to about 350 mV but Jsc's remained 7.21 mA/cm2.

In this thesis, silicon oxide thin films fabricated on silicon substrates by reactive radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering and supercritical CO2 (SCCO2) treatment at room temperature were investigated. The electrical properties including I-V and C-V of the films prepared at different processing conditions were discussed. Using the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), the thickness of silicon oxide thin films were measured. The results suggested that the film quality can be significantly improved by the SCCO2 treatment after reactive sputtering. The leakage current of the films at an electrical field of 1 MV/cm is 1¡Ñ10-8A/cm2 with a hysteresis voltage of 0.01V. The silicon oxide thin films can be used as a barrier layer for Al/SiO2/Si silicon solar cells. The energy conversion efficiency of a single crystal silicon solae cell is 10.2% under AM1.5 (965W/m2) radiation. After rapid thermal annealing(RTA) at 500¢J, the measured short-circuit current, open- circuit voltage, fill factor are 53mA, 0.54V and 0.53, respectively.

Integrated microlens array on a transparent film, called an optical film, provides interesting applications for various fields. In a FPD (Flat Panel Display), the optical films are the more important components to improve the efficiency and quality. In this dissertation, a diffuser film which consisted of two different microlens arrays on the two surfaces of a film was developed and used to enhance the brightness and uniformity of a light source. There were also several microlens arrays developed, such as a hexagonal microlens array with gap and gapless, a gapless dual-curvature microlens array and a diffuser film. A process called polygonal microlens array process had been used to manufacture them. It had advantages of mass production, various polygonal shapes and 100% fill-factor. A softer mold of PDMS and a metal mold of NiCo alloy were utilized to replicate the MLAs. In this dissertation, several replication processes were applied to mass product and to find out which one is more suitable for the diffuser film. In this dissertation, the results of different shapes and dimensions of microlens arrays showed various light distribution. Therefore, for searching a more suitable and novel layout of a diffuser, Taguchi Method with simulation was used to design the layout of a diffuser film before fabrication process. Finally, a diffuser film was measured and demonstrated its optical effects. According to the results of measurement and simulation, the average intensity and the S/N ratios were shown. The trend of simulation and measurement was also similar.

Polycrystalline CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells are among the leading candidates for low-cost, large scale terrestrial photovoltaic applications. CdTe has a high absorption coefficient and it can absorb the radiant energy within less than 2 µm of thickness. This makes it suitable for thin film applications. CdTe has a band gap of 1.45 eV at room temperature, which is nearly optimum for photovoltaic conversion efficiency under the AM 1.5 solar spectrum. The theoretical maximum efficiency for CdTe solar cells is 29%. However, to-date the experimental value is in the 16 % range. In most cases CdTe cells are subjected to a post-growth heat treatment which involves annealing in the presence of CdCl2. The treatment results in significant increases in conversion efficiency (η) and all three solar cell parameters Voc, FF, and Jsc. In this work, several variations of the CdCl2 treatment were used on more than 100 samples to investigate their effects on the solar cell parameters. A vapor CdCl2 method was applied for the treatment with various source temperatures, substrate temperatures, and treatment times. The cells were characterized by dark and light J-V and spectral response (SR) measurements.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are regarded as next-generation light sources. The enhancement of external quantum efficiency of OLEDs has been investigated widely. It is an effective method of improving the external quantum efficiency, which destroys the phenomenon of total internal reflection inside the OLEDs by attaching microlens array to the surface of the glass substrate of the OLEDs. In this thesis, a multi-level aspherical gapless microlens array was designed and manufactured, and it was applied to OLEDs. In contrast with a spherical microlens array, the multi-level aspherical gapless microlens array can achieve a form of high aspect ratio and high fill factor, and they can enhance the external quantum efficiency of OLEDs. At first, aspherical microlens arrays with different parameters, including shapes of curved surface, layouts and feature dimensions, were simulated by optical simulation software, FRED. The aspherical microlens arrays which were attached to an OLED were simulated with a ray tracing method. Then, an optimal geometry and layout were found out. After simulation, a film with multi-level aspherical microlens array was fabricated by a LIGA-like process, including lithography, electroforming, PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) micro-molding and UV (Ultraviolet) -cured techniques. The characteristic in this process was to use multi-lithography to fabricate a microlens array with multi-level and high aspect ratio. The shape of multi-level was similar to the design, and the process can achieve the advantage of batch manufacture. Finally, the films with different multi-level aspherical microlens array were attached to an OLED to measure the optical-electric properties. The measured results were compared with simulation and confirmed them.

abstract: In this work a newly fabricated organic solar cell based on a composite of fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and regioregular poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with an added interfacial layer of AgOx in between the PEDOT:PSS layer and the ITO layer is investigated. Previous equivalent circuit models are discussed and an equivalent circuit model is proposed for the fabricated device. Incorporation of the AgOx interfacial layer shows an increase in fill factor (by 33%) and power conversion efficiency (by 28%). Moreover proper correlation has been achieved between the experimental and simulated I-V plots. The simulation shows that device characteristics can be explained with accuracy by the proposed model. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2015

abstract: Solar photovoltaic (PV) industry is tipped to be one of the front-runners in the renewable industry. Typically, PV module manufacturers provide a linear or step warranty of 80% of original power over 25 years. This power loss during the field exposure is primarily attributed to the development of performance affecting defects in the PV modules. As many as 86 different defects can occur in a PV module. One of the major defects that can cause significant power loss is the interconnect metallization system (IMS) degradation which is the focus of this thesis. The IMS is composed of cell-interconnect (cell-ribbon interconnect) and string-interconnect (ribbon-ribbon interconnect). The cell interconnect is in turn composed of silver metallization (fingers and busbars) and solder bonds between silver busbar and copper ribbon. Weak solder bonding between copper ribbon and busbar of a cell results in increase of series resistance that in turn affects the fill factor causing a power drop. In this thesis work, the results obtained from various non-destructive and destructive experiments performed on modules exposed in three different climates (Arizona - Hot and Dry, Mexico - Warm and Humid, and California - Temperate) are presented. These experiments include light I-V measurements, dark I-V measurements, infrared imaging, extraction of test samples from the modules, peel strength measurements and four-point resistance measurements. The extraction of test samples was performed using a mechanical method and a chemical method. The merits and demerits of these two methods are presented. A drop of 10.33% in fill factor was observed for a 0.05Ω increase in the series resistance of the modules investigated in this work. Different combinations in a cell that can cause series resistance increase were considered and their effect on fill factor were observed using four-point probe experiments. Peel test experiments were conducted to correlate the effect of series resistance on the ribbon peel strength. Finally, climate specific thermal modelling was performed for 4 different sites over 20 years in order to calculate the accumulated thermal fatigue and also to evaluate its correlation, if any, with the increase of series resistance. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Mechanical Engineering 2016

abstract: The objective of this thesis is to achieve a detailed understanding of the loss mechanisms in SHJ solar cells. The working principles of these cells and what affects the cell operation, e.g. the IV characteristics at the maximum power point (MPP) and the correspondingly ll factor (FF) are investigated. Dierent loss sources are analyzed separately, and the weight of each in the total loss at the MPP are evaluated. The total series resistance is measured and then compared with the value obtained through summation over each of its components. In other words, series resistance losses due to recombination, vertical and lateral carrier transport, metalization, etc, are individually evaluated, and then by adding all these components together, the total loss is calculated. The concept of ll factor and its direct dependence on the loss mechanisms at the MPP of the device is explained, and its sensitivity to nearly every processing step of the cell fabrication is investigated. This analysis provides a focus lens to identify the main source of losses in SHJ solar cells and pave the path for further improvements in cell efficiency. In this thesis, we provide a detailed understanding of the FF concept; we explain how it can be directly measured; how it can be calculated and what expressions can better approximate its value and under what operating conditions. The relation between FF and cell operating condition at the MPP is investigated. We separately analyzed the main FF sources of losses including recombination, sheet resistance, contact resistance and metalization. We study FF loss due to recombination and its separate components which include the Augur, radiative and SRH recombination is investigated. We study FF loss due to contact resistance and its separate components which include the contact resistance of dierent interfaces, e.g. between the intrinsic and doped a-Si layers, TCO and a-Si layers. We also study FF loss due to lateral transport and its components that including the TCO sheet resistance, the nger and the busbars resistances. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2018

Semiconducting aromatic-boron carbide composite/alloyed films formed by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition from carborane and aromatic precursors have been demonstrated to be excellent detectors for thermal neutrons because of the large 10B cross section. The electronic properties of these films derived from XPS show that the properties of boron carbide can be tuned by co-deposition of aromatic compounds and carborane. Aromatic doping results in narrower indirect band gaps (1.1 - 1.7 eV vs ~3 eV for orthocarborane-derived boron carbide without aromatics) and average charge transport lifetimes (as long as 2.5 ms for benzene-orthocarborane and 1.5 - 2.5 ms for indole-orthocarborane) that are superior to those of boron carbide (35 µs). The films also show enhanced electron-hole separation that is also superior to those of boron carbide where the states at the top of the valence band is made of aromatic components while states at the bottom of the conduction band is a combination of aromatic and carborane moeities. These properties result in greatly enhanced (~850%) charge collection, relative to films without aromatic content, in thermal neutron exposures at zero-bias, and are gamma-blind. Such films are therefore excellent candidates for zero-bias neutron detector applications. These properties also show little variation with increasing aromatic content beyond a critical concentration, indicating that at some point, excess aromatic results in the formation of regions of polymerized aromatic within the film, rather than in additional carborane/aromatic linkages. While previous studies on these aromatic-boron carbide materials indicate the potential for neutron detection due to the narrowed band gap, enhanced electron-hole separation and charge transport lifetimes compared to the boron carbide counterpart, the mechanisms of charge transport and photoconductivity (important for photovoltaic applications) of these materials have remained unexplored. Properties such as narrowed band gap, efficient electron-hole separation and long charge transport lifetimes, are also desirable in photovoltaic applications. This, plus ease of fabrication and environmental robustness makes aromatic-boron carbide films promising candidates for photovoltaic applications. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been used to synthesize these aromatic-boron carbide composite films by co-deposition of pyridine, aniline or indole with orthocarborane/metacarborane. Film chemical composition and bonding were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) and (in collaboration with Dowben Group at UNL) charge transport and photoconductivity measurements. Results show narrowed band gaps (indirect) where the top of the valence band is made up of the aromatic moiety and the conduction band minimum us made of aromatic and carborane moeities, improved charge carrier mobilities that is stoichiometry and frequency dependent (aniline-orthocarborane films). Photoconductivity measurement results obtained from ~2.6:1 indole-orthocarborane film show fourth quadrant conductivity. I(V) curves indicate a photocurrent of 2.36 µA at zero bias, with an appreciable open-circuit voltage of 1V. The ability for these aromatic-boron carbide films to operate at zero bias for both neutron detection and photovoltaic applications is an excellent advantage that indicates low cost of operation of these materials.

Αντικείμενο της παρούσας διπλωματικής είναι η μελέτη του παράγοντα ποιότητας για τρία διαφορετικά πλαίσια για διαφορετικές καιρικές συνθήκες. Τα πλαίσια που μελετήθηκαν ήταν ένα πλαίσιο μονοκρυσταλλικού πυριτίου CONERGY Q 80 MI , ένα πλαίσιο πολυκρυσταλλικού πυριτίου sharp NE-80E2EA και ένα πλαίσιο δισεληνοϊνδιούχου χαλκού (CIS) τεχνολογίας thin –film SHELL ECLIPSE 75 –C . Στο θεωρητικό μέρος παραθέτονται οι βασικές αρχές της φυσικής των ημιαγωγών και περιγράφονται οι τεχνολογίες των τριών πλαισίων που μελετάμε. Επίσης, αναλύονται τα ηλεκτρικά χαρακτηριστικά του ηλιακού στοιχείου και τέλος παρουσιάζονται οι πρόσφατες μελέτες σχετικά με τον παράγοντα ποιότητας οι οποίες χρησιμοποιήθηκαν ως αναφορά για τη διεξαγωγή της πειραματικής διαδικασίας. Για την διεξαγωγή του πειραματικού μέρους πραγματοποιήθηκαν πειραματικές μετρήσεις διάρκειας πέντε μηνών (Οκτώβριος 2009 – Φεβρουάριος 2010 ) . Οι μετρήσεις αφορούσαν όλα τα ηλεκτρικά χαρακτηριστικά των τριών πλαισίων και έγιναν σε πραγματικές συνθήκες στην ταράτσα του κτιρίου του τμήματος Ηλεκτρολόγων Μηχανικών του πολυτεχνείου Πάτρας για την κλίση των 38° . Τα πειραματικά δεδομένα οδήγησαν σε συμπεράσματα σχετικά με την συμπεριφορά του παράγοντα ποιότητας των τριών πλαισίων σε διαφορετικές καιρικές συνθήκες. Επιπλέον, μελετήθηκε η επίδραση της θερμοκρασίας υπό σταθερή ακτινοβολία και της ακτινοβολίας υπό σταθερή θερμοκρασία στον παράγοντα ποιότητας και στις παραμέτρους που τον επηρεάζουν. Η μελέτη ολοκληρώθηκε με τον υπολογισμό της αποδιδόμενης ενέργειας των τριών πλαισίων στο ίδιο διάστημα. Τέλος υπολογίστηκε η ετήσια αποδιδόμενη ισχύς για την ίδια κλίση για τα τρία πλαίσια με την βοήθεια του προγράμματος PV SOL και έγινε σύγκριση αυτών των τιμών με τις πειραματικές. / The purpose of this thesis is to study the fill factor for three different photovoltaic modules under different weather conditions. The modules under investigation were a mono-crystalline CONERGY Q 80 MI, a polycrystalline silicon sharp NE-80E2EA and a CIS technology thin-film SHELL ECLIPSE 75–C. In the literature review the basic physical principles of semiconductor technology are presented and the technical characteristics of the three modules under study are described. Also, the electrical characteristics of a solar cell are analyzed. Finally, recent studies on the fill factor of solar cells are presented. In order to conduct the experimental part of this thesis, extensive outdoor measurements have been realized during five months (October 2009 - February 2010). We have realized measurements of the electrical characteristics of the three modules under environmental conditions, on the roof of the building of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Patras, at tilt angle of 38°. Conclusions were extracted, from experimental data, about the behavior of the fill factor of each of the three modules under varying weather conditions. Moreover, the effect of temperature and solar radiation on the fill factor of a solar cell was presented. The study was completed by calculating the energy yield from these modules during five months (October to February). Finally, the annual energy output was calculated using PV SOL software.