Wu Gwomei
Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
Polymers (Basel). 2024 May 10;16(10):1358. doi: 10.3390/polym16101358.
In this report, micro-patterned silicon semiconductor photovoltaic cells have been proposed to improve the efficiency in various incident sunlight angles, using homeotropic liquid crystal polymers. The anisotropic liquid crystal precursor solution based on a reactive mesogen has good flowing characteristics. It can be evenly coated on the silicon solar cells' surface by a conventional spreading technique, such as spin coating. Once cured, the polymers exhibit asymmetric transmittance properties. The optical retardation characteristics of the coated polymer films can be eventually determined by the applicable coating and curing parameters during the processes. The birefringence of light then influences the optical path and the divergence of any encountered sunlight. This allows more photons to enter the active semiconductor layers for optical absorption, resulting in an increase in the photon-to-electron conversion, and thus improving the photovoltaic cell efficiency. This new design is straightforward and could allow various patterns to be created for scientific development. The experimental results have evidenced that the energy conversion efficiency could be improved by 2-3% for the silicon photovoltaic cells, under direct sunlight or at no inclination, when the liquid crystal polymer precursor solution is prepared at 5%. In addition, the efficiency could be much more significantly improved to 14-16% when the angle is inclined to 45°. The unique patterned liquid crystal polymer thin films provide enhanced energy conversion efficiency for silicon photovoltaic cells. The design could be further evaluated for other solar cell applications.
在本报告中,已提出使用垂直取向的液晶聚合物的微图案化硅半导体光伏电池,以提高在各种入射太阳光角度下的效率。基于反应性液晶基元的各向异性液晶前驱体溶液具有良好的流动特性。它可以通过诸如旋涂等传统铺展技术均匀地涂覆在硅太阳能电池表面。一旦固化,聚合物就会表现出不对称的透射特性。涂覆的聚合物薄膜的光学延迟特性最终可以由过程中适用的涂覆和固化参数决定。光的双折射进而影响光程以及任何遇到的太阳光的发散。这使得更多光子能够进入有源半导体层进行光吸收,从而增加光子到电子的转换,进而提高光伏电池效率。这种新设计很简单,并且可以为科学发展创建各种图案。实验结果证明,当液晶聚合物前驱体溶液以5%的浓度制备时,在直射阳光或无倾斜情况下,硅光伏电池的能量转换效率可以提高2 - 3%。此外,当角度倾斜到45°时,效率可以显著提高到14 - 16%。独特的图案化液晶聚合物薄膜为硅光伏电池提供了更高的能量转换效率。该设计可进一步评估用于其他太阳能电池应用。