Improvement of the photovoltaic conversion efficiency using nanostructuring in intermediate-band photovoltaic solar cells

Abstract

Nanostructuring is one of the most developed technologies that are able to improve considerably the photovoltaic conversion for low cost. This approach removes certain limitations of current technology; the photons that have low energy and do not participate in the photovoltaic conversion. Also, the photons that have a high energy that sell their excess energy in phonons' form. This work focuses on intermediate band solar cells introduced by material with a high-energy gap, an intermediate energy level, by quantum dots or quantum wells of some nanometers. This study attempts to show the great interest of this approach by calculating first, the efficiency limits of solar cell Shockley and interests in the intermediate-band photovoltaic solar cells approach by studying the parameters affecting their performances as well as the choice of materials and energy level of the nanostructure. All this, is achieved through the simulation software Matlab. The mathematical model developing stretches of photon emission by sun until the photovoltaic conversion in the semiconductor material.