Abstract: Proposed is a composite photovoltaic device with parabolic collector and different solar cells, wherein the high photoelectric conversion efficiency is achieved along with significant material cost reduction. The device comprises two or three solar cells formed on opposite sides of a transparent substrate, and a parabolic collector attached to the back side of the substrate. First thin film solar cell formed on the front side receives and converts to electricity a short-wavelength portion of the incoming Sun radiation, and transmits the long-wavelength portion. A second solar cell receives and converts to electricity a concentrated long-wavelength portion of the Sun radiation, which is re-directed toward a focal point by the parabolic collector. In one embodiment a third solar cell is included for converting an IR portion of the radiation. Thus, each solar cell utilizes a favorable part of the Sun spectrum, which allows for an enhancement of photoelectric efficiency and significant material cost reduction.

Abstract: Proposed is a composite photovoltaic device with parabolic collector and different solar cells, wherein the high photoelectric conversion efficiency is achieved along with significant material cost reduction. The device comprises two or three solar cells formed on opposite sides of a transparent substrate, and a parabolic collector attached to the back side of the substrate. First thin film solar cell formed on the front side receives and converts to electricity a short-wavelength portion of the incoming Sun radiation, and transmits the long-wavelength portion. A second solar cell receives and converts to electricity a concentrated long-wavelength portion of the Sun radiation, which is re-directed toward a focal point by the parabolic collector. In one embodiment a third solar cell is included for converting an IR portion of the radiation. Thus, each solar cell utilizes a favorable part of the Sun spectrum, which allows for an enhancement of photoelectric efficiency and significant material cost reduction.

Abstract: Proposed is the backside silicon photovoltaic cell and method for forming backside selective emitters, backside doped base contact regions, backside field-induced emitters, FSF-regions, and contacts to the functional regions of a backside solar cell by essentially electrical means and without conventional thermal diffusion and masking processes. The process includes forming conductive layers on both sides of an intermediate device structure, performing Joule heating by passing electrical current through the backside conductive layers thus forming the selective emitters, the base contact regions, and contacts to the functional regions. The obtained structure is then subjected to pulse electrical treatment by applying a voltage pulse or pulses between the front and back conductive layers to form the field-induced emitter and the field-induced FSF. After the conductive layers are removed, a final solar cell is obtained.

Abstract: Provided is an apparatus for manufacturing a composite material consisting of a flexible substrate and a multilayer nanostructured PV-active film supported by the substrate. The apparatus comprises a sealable chamber, the cylindrical inner wall of which is used as a support for a flexible substrate. The chamber contains a rotating crucible having a recess in its center and flat margins. The apparatus is provided with a power laser capable of generating an annular beam focused on the aforementioned flat surface. In operation, a nanoparticle-containing colloidal solution is supplied to the crucible. During rotation, the solution moves to the flat margins where it forms a thin layer that is evaporated by means of the annular laser beam. As the solution evaporates, the nanoparticles, which remain on the surface, fly out by inertia from the edges of the crucible to the flexible substrate. The deposition process can be controlled so that the deposited layers form a PV-active film.

Abstract: An efficient and low-cost method is intended for forming a flexible nanostructured material suitable for use as an active element of a photovoltaic panel. The method consists of evaporating a colloidal solution, which contains nanoparticles of various sizes and/or masses, from a flat surface of a rotating body on which the solution forms a thin and easily vaporizable layer, and simultaneously releasing the nanoparticles from the solution for their free flight through a gaseous medium toward the flexible substrate. As a result, the particles of different sizes and/or types of material are deposited onto the flexible substrate in a predetermined sequence that corresponds to the magnitude of resistance experienced by the nanoparticles during their free flight.

Abstract: A photovoltaic device that includes a silicon substrate, selective emitters and field-induced emitters (inversion type) on one side of a silicon substrate; selective back-surface field (BSF) regions or front-surface field (FSF) regions on the other side of the silicon substrate (accumulation-type regions), insulating films on both sides of the silicon substrate, fixed charges of the opposite signs on the opposite sides of the silicon substrate built in the insulating films, respectively, and self-aligned contact regions at least to the selective emitters. A majority of the aforementioned components are produced only by essentially electrical means and without conventional thermal diffusion and masking processes. Entire devices can be manufactured according to a simple method and are characterized by high efficiency, reduced cost, and increased throughput in the field of solar cell fabrication.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of manufacturing a monolithic thin-film photovoltaic cell or module with enhanced output voltage as high as 100 V or higher in a single microelectronic process without connecting in series a plurality of premanufactured solar cells. The method consists of forming a plurality of adjacent individual TSCs arranged on a common transparent substrate in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. Each TSC consists of a pair of PV cells having PIN and NIP structures, respectively, with substantially coplanar position of a P-doped layer of one of the cells with respect to an N-doped layer of another cell of the pair. A tunnel junction is formed between the cells of the pair by overlapping P-doped and N-doped layers in the area near the common transparent substrate.

Abstract: Proposed is the method for forming selective emitters, field-induced emitters, back-surface field regions, and contacts to the functional regions of a solar cell by essentially electrical means and without conventional thermal diffusion and masking processes. The process includes forming conductive layers on both sides of an intermediate solar-cell structure, performing electrical and thermal treatment by passing electrical current independently through the front-side conductive layer and the back-side conductive layer, thus forming the selective emitters, the selective BSF regions, selective emitter contact regions, and contacts to the selective BSF regions. The obtained structure is then subjected to pulse electrical treatment by applying a voltage pulse or pulses between the front and back conductive layers to form the field-induced emitter and the field-induced BSF region. After the conductive layers are removed, a final solar cell is obtained.

Abstract: Proposed is the method for forming selective emitters, field-induced emitters, back-surface field regions, and contacts to the functional regions of a solar cell by essentially electrical means and without conventional thermal diffusion and masking processes. The process includes forming conductive layers on both sides of an intermediate solar-cell structure, performing electrical and thermal treatment by passing electrical current independently through the front-side conductive layer and the back-side conductive layer, thus forming the selective emitters, the selective BSF regions, selective emitter contact regions, and contacts to the selective BSF regions. The obtained structure is then subjected to pulse electrical treatment by applying a voltage pulse or pulses between the front and back conductive layers to form the field-induced emitter and the field-induced BSF region. After the conductive layers are removed, a final solar cell is obtained.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of manufacturing a monolithic thin-film photovoltaic cell or module with enhanced output voltage as high as 100 V or higher in a single microelectronic process without connecting in series a plurality of premanufactured solar cells. The method consists of forming a plurality of adjacent individual TSCs arranged on a common transparent substrate in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. Each TSC consists of a pair of PV cells having PIN and NIP structures, respectively, with substantially coplanar position of a P-doped layer of one of the cells with respect to an N-doped layer of another cell of the pair. A tunnel junction is formed between the cells of the pair by overlapping P-doped and N-doped layers in the area near the common transparent substrate.

Abstract: A monolithic thin-film tandem solar cell wherein the enhanced output voltage as high as 100 V or higher can be achieved in a single monolithic device and wherein automatic current matching is achieved between the cells. The monolithic cell comprises a plurality of individual tandem solar cells arranged side-by-side in the longitudinal direction of the substrate. Each individual tandem solar cell consists of a pair of thin-film photovoltaic cells arranged side-by-side. The layers are arranged so that when one of the overlapped layers is a heavily doped P-layer, the other one, which is coplanar to this P-layer, is a heavily doped N-layer and so that overlapped P- and N-layers form an area of a tunnel junction through which the first thin-film photovoltaic cell and a second thin-film photovoltaic cell are electrically connected to each other in series.

Abstract: An efficient and low-cost method is intended for forming a flexible nanostructured material suitable for use as an active element of a photovoltaic panel. The method consists of evaporating a colloidal solution, which contains nanoparticles of various sizes and/or masses, from a flat surface of a rotating body on which the solution forms a thin and easily vaporizable layer, and simultaneously releasing the nanoparticles from the solution for their free flight through a gaseous medium toward the flexible substrate. As a result, the particles of different sizes and/or types of material are deposited onto the flexible substrate in a predetermined sequence that corresponds to the magnitude of resistance experienced by the nanoparticles during their free flight.

Abstract: Provided is an apparatus for manufacturing a composite material consisting of a flexible substrate and a multilayer nanostructured PV-active film supported by the substrate. The apparatus comprises a sealable chamber, the cylindrical inner wall of which is used as a support for a flexible substrate. The chamber contains a rotating crucible having a recess in its center and flat margins. The apparatus is provided with a power laser capable of generating an annular beam focused on the aforementioned flat surface. In operation, a nanoparticle-containing colloidal solution is supplied to the crucible. During rotation, the solution moves to the flat margins where it forms a thin layer that is evaporated by means of the annular laser beam. As the solution evaporates, the nanoparticles, which remain on the surface, fly out by inertia from the edges of the crucible to the flexible substrate. The deposition process can be controlled so that the deposited layers form a PV-active film.

Abstract: Photovoltaic devices or solar cells are provided having one or more photoactive layers where at least one of the photoactive layers comprises a sublayer made of photoactive nanoparticles that differ in size, composition or both.

Abstract: The invention provides a self-cooled PV device that consists of a PV unit and a radiative cooling unit with specific cooling-enhancing means that covers the solar-energy absorbing side of the PV unit. The aforementioned specific radiation enhancing means may have an electric charge positively induced in the radiative cooling unit for re-arranging the spectrum of the IR radiation towards the spectral range of the ATW. The radiation enhancing means may be comprised of a pre-charged texture formed on the light-receiving surface of the PV unit and coated with an anti-reflection film, a sealed chamber filled with a dipole gas or a mixture of gases, or a combination of the pre-charged texture and the aforementioned gas-filled chamber.

Abstract: An integrated demultiplexer/photoreceiver (IDP) for optical networks and optical interconnection devices has a common substrate which supports three sequentially arranged basic components: a waveguide grating router, an array of photodetectors, and an array of heterojunction transistors. Basic layers of all three components are grown together in a common epitaxial process, and then each of the components is individually patterned in accordance with its function. Such structure of IDP makes it possible to reduce the cost, simplify the design, improve conditions for optical alignment, and reduce optical losses. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, transparency of the optical signal transmission layer of the WGR is controlled by selectively doping the layers of the multiple-layer waveguide structure, while in another embodiment such control is achieved by changing the width of the energy gap in the optical signal transmission layer of the WGR.

Abstract: A solid-state wavelength demultiplexer comprising a plurality of photosensitive elements wherein each element has certain energy gap defined by the material composition. All photosensitive elements are grown on a common substrate where the first grown buffer layer, adjacent and near lattice matched to the first bottom photosensitive element, is heavily doped. A composition of photosensitive elements varies from the first bottom photosensitive element up to a first top photosensitive layer in such a way that corresponding energy gap has a minimum value in the lowermost element while the maximum value in the uppermost element. A wide gap doped “window” layer is grown on top of the uppermost element. Each individual photosensitive element consists of at least three sublayers comprising a first doped sublayer, a second heavily doped sublayer, and a photosensitive undoped sublayer sandwiched between them.